Secrets Behind the Magic
by animeloverhomura
Summary: Even in high school Tatsuya draws attention to the oddities and secrets behind his existence and family. If the high school Tatsuya does that, how could his younger self possibly go through school without receiving suspicion from his classmates? The simple answer? He doesn't. And, after showing a bit too much of the real him, his classmates become determined to find the rest.
1. Chapter 1

Yes, to anyone wondering, this chapter is before the flashback arc so the siblings are still pretty young and not super close as of yet. I'll get to the afterwards part later (probably), but I'm not sure I'll do much shipping. It just seems creepy to me with how Tatsuya has viewed Miyuki as a sister for so long, so I might turn this into an **alternate universe** as time goes on.

* * *

Uryu, sixth grade basketball player extraordinaire, sat frozen in fear at his desk. It was not because of a bad grade (he wouldn't care), or because of his parents (they were out of town for the nine schools' competition), or even because of another kid at school. No bully would be stupid enough to pick on a kid who was confident, tall and could make five baskets in a row. It also was not due to love, as he knew the only girl he had a crush on barely knew his name.

Instead, it was that girl's brother who was causing him to remain rooted to his seat in terror.

During break, he and his friends had decided to, like usual, play basketball together. They got out onto the courts before anyone else had even reached the playground and began their match, drowning out the rest of the world for the game. Eventually, Uryu noticed the girl of his dreams, Miyuki Shiba, had sat down to watch them with her friends Homura and Kyoko, but sat just a little closer than she should.

Miyuki obviously did not know the rules regarding where the ball danger zone was, but Uryu was confident he would be able to keep the ball away from his crush with his flawless skills.

He realized, later, that it might have been more accurate for him to have put "flawless" in air quotes.

Uryu made a pass to one of his teammates, but soon realized he had miss-fired slightly. His friend's fingertips barely touched the ball, shifting its movement slightly so that it headed directly above Miyuki Shiba.

The girls, who had been excitedly gossiping and watching the game until just then, suddenly froze with wide eyes as the sun was blocked off by the heavy ball falling towards them. Uryu flinched and looked away. The ball came down on the girls at a high speed. He waited for the crushing _smack_ and sound of tears.

* **BAM** *

The distinctive sound of the speedy ball colliding with flesh rang in his ears.

The crying never came.

Slowly, Uryu blinked opened his eyes and saw his teammates doing the same. They looked toward the girls, who had leaned back on the ground, staring up at the person in front of them.

Uryu cursed every god he could as he realized who was standing in front of them.

Tatsuya Shiba.

Shoot.

Part of him, admittedly, felt relieved that someone was able to catch the ball before it hit Miyuki and subsequently ruined any chance he had of being with her. This was amplified by the fact that this person was her brother, who was not a romantic rival for him either. (Though that also meant he would probably have to face _overprotective brother mode_ when he officially got together with Miyuki).

Another part was confused. Not in a 'I-don't-get-this-problem' sort of way, more in a 'how-the- _hell_ -did-he-get-over-here-so-fast -when-none-of-us-could-do-anything?!' way.

Those emotions, however, were soon overwhelmed as the vast majority of him was filled with a sort of crushing fear at the expression on Tatsuya's face. Once, when Uryu was younger, his family made him watch a nature documentary clip for no good reason. The only part he had liked of that was the part where the two male lions had fought over the future of the pride. The lion who won had been terrifying, unchallenged, and powerful. The last person (lion?) you would ever want to cross if they were annoyed or hungry.

Unfortunately, neither annoyed nor hungry fit the expression on Tatsuya's face. Pure rage would be a bit more accurate…

At first Uryu wanted to protest; the girls were the ones who broke (did not know) the rules, why was he glaring at them? But even his (completely rational) desire to redirect blame was drowned out by the fear he felt from looking at Tatsuya.

Having scanned the surrounding situation, Tatsuya looked up at Uryu and the two of them made eye contact. The piercing blue eyes looking at him were shadowed; demanding an explanation of who to blame.

 _Bu-bump. Bu-bump_.

Uryu's heart continued to beat in his chest, but he did not know how long that would last. His breathing became jagged. Frantic. Short, breathless gasping. Even the girls looked uncomfortable now, and everyone else was frozen where they stood.

 _Bu-bump._

Tatsuya would not actually hurt them, right? They knew he was really athletic, but he was not the kind of guy to get into fights for no good reason. Uryu did not even know if he _could_ fight, but was sure the smartest guy in their class was not such a violent person that he would kill them all over this…

Right?

"Uh-well… um," Uryu tried, managing to, at least, make a sound. He immediately regretted it, however, when Tatsuya turned his full attention to him. Any remaining words died in his throat.

An invisible pressure crashed down on him, rooting him to his spot.

The world became suffocating.

 _Bu-bump._

He could not speak.

 _Bu-bump._

He could not look away.

 _Bu-bump._

He could not move.

 _Bu-bump_.

He could not breathe.

Finally, _finally_ , Tatsuya seemed to realize what was happening and blinked once, before taking a deep breath. Suddenly, the pressure disappeared and Uryu could breathe again. Even while keeping his eyes on Tatsuya, Uryu noticed several of his teammates sink to the floor or fall to their knees, panting more heavily than they had after last year's championship game.

Tatsuya casually tossed the ball back, but when Uryu caught it he had to fight back a wince at the pain which tickled his hands from the impact. The other boy- still relaxed and casual- began walking closer to Uryu. It was only when Tatsuya stood directly in front of him that Uryu once again felt the pressure, though luckily much lighter this time.

"Uryu Hattori, could you explain what just happened? I'm afraid I don't completely understand."

Uryu spent several seconds gaping- both at Tatsuya knowing his full name and because of the lack of air in his body- before he took a few breaths and tried to answer.

"We-we were just, we were just playing and we lost the ball for a moment. It-I um, it won't happen again."

"Can you truly promise that?"

Tatsuya had somehow found a way to remove all emotion from his voice and still freeze Uryu to his spot. Rather than seeming computer -generated, it reminded Uryu of the assassins in some of the games he liked to play. Uryu was just a job to Tatsuya. Boring; not even high enough to be worth being considered prey.

"I-no, but- but I…"

"Is everything alright over here?"

Uryu's salvation came in the form of their homeroom teacher, who had probably noticed they had all stopped playing and came over to investigate. For a moment Tatsuya continued staring at Uryu, maybe deciding whether or not to just kill him and be done with it, before he turned to the teacher.

Uryu will never try to deny how his mouth dropped at the expression Tatsuya showed the teacher. It was calm, confident, and so _him_ that for a moment Uryu wondered if he had just imagined the last few minutes.

"Yes miss, sorry. They were playing and the ball went a little crazy. Miyuki was almost hit, so I got worried and came over, though I might have overreacted a bit."

"A _bit_?" Uryu heard one of his teammates kneeling on the ground quietly breathe out, and he privately agreed. Luckily, he knew better than to say anything in such close distance to Tatsuya or the teacher and remained silent.

"I see. Girls, you might not know the rules- we really should put a sign up- but do you see that yellow line?" As she spoke, the teacher pointed to a painted box which surrounded the courts, "We ask that spectators stay outside of that box for their own safety. Do you all understand? I don't want anyone to get hurt."  
Uryu was about to shout that they had just been in much more danger than any of the girls, but a quick glance from Tatsuya killed the protest before it began. The teacher left, and Tatsuya walked over to the girls, offering his sister a hand.

Miyuki looked at him oddly, looking back and forth between Uryu and her brother as if trying to understand how Tatsuya could have been so intimidating. Then, in a gesture completely alien to the Miyuki he knew, she stood up, refusing to take her brother's offered hand.

Her two friends stared at her in shock, but Miyuki spun on her heel and walked away, ignoring everyone else. Now that he thought about it, the two siblings never acted close, but Uryu had never taken the time to notice the invisible barrier that seemed to exist between the two.

Then again, why would Tatsuya get so defensive if there was nothing between them? The more Uryu thought about it, the less sense it made to him. He knew he was not close to being the smartest person in the class (a.k.a Tatsuya), but he had thought he was pretty good at understanding relationships between people.

His skill, however, did not do anything to clear up what he had just seen.

Even as Miyuki walked off, Tatsuya did not show any of the dangerously short temper Uryu had just discovered. Instead, he remained as calm as usual and offered help to the two (now blushing) girls in front of him.

For the rest of lunch Uryu (and all the other basketball players for that matter) closely watched Tatsuya. They watched him as he went to get a drink of water, they watched him as he sat down in the shade of a tree to read a book, they watched him as he pulled out his homework and they watched as he went to get more water just before the break ended.

All in all, it was quite possibly the most boring thing Uryu had ever done during his break period, but none of them could bring themselves to look away. They could not stop the feeling that if they looked away for a moment calm-Tatsuya would instantly change into scary-Tatsuya and send them all to an early grave.

The fact that Uryu was sure Tatsuya somehow knew he was being watched had not helped.

And now? Now Uryu just wanted to go home. But even as the bell for the end of school rang and people began to file out Uryu remained frozen in his seat. His sister would come looking for him soon, and then he could leave. It would be a new level of embarrassment for him to need someone to pick him up when he was already in sixth grade, but he refused to leave alone. In fact, all his friends shared the same sentiment.

Because, depressingly enough, Tatsuya was _still_ there.

Miyuki had started to gossip with her friends about some store or another and they all knew Tatsuya would not leave without her. He was not even _doing_ anything; he just stood, calm and silent as ever, by the door, waiting for her to finish. Not even Uryu's Mom had that much patience, and yet he was doing that for his sister.

What was _wrong_ with that family?

No, wait, Miyuki was only weird when Tatsuya was involved; he was the only one she acted distant to. A better question would be on what was wrong with Tatsuya.

Suddenly Tatsuya glanced over, making eye contact with Uryu and clearly expressing 'I know you're watching, don't think about trying anything'. Uryu immediately looked down at his desk. Minutes ticked by at the speed of an hour, but Uryu refused to look up again until help came.

"Uryu?" For the first time in several minutes the boy looked up from his desk and toward the door. Uryu had never been happier to hear his sister's voice, even as confused as it was. He flew out of his seat and walked (ran) to her, grabbing her hand as soon as he could and pulling her out of the classroom.

"Can we go home now?"

"Sorry?"

Uryu realized what he said must have sounded more like 'canwegohomenow', but was in too much of a hurry to repeat himself. Even the embarrassment caused by running out of the classroom could not compare to what might happen if he stayed in the same room as the Shiba brother for too long.

Despite his sister's questions, Uryu did not say a word until they had reached the car and left the parking lot. His sister began driving them home, giving him strange looks for the first half of the ride.

By the second half, she had apparently decided she had waited long enough- high school girls have very limited patience for their brothers- and spoke.

"So, did you embarrass yourself in front of a girl or did you try picking on the wrong kid and finally get taught a lesson?"

"I wasn't picking on anyone!"

Uryu felt his righteous spirit and near-insurmountable bravado falter at the unimpressed look she gave him.

"Mmhm. So you were just sitting down and not bothering anyone and then someone walked over and taught you a lesson?"

"I didn't do anything to deserve it!"

"Mmhm."

" _Really_!"

"Mmhm."

Rightfully annoyed at his sister for not understanding the gravity of the situation, Uryu ignored her- no, he was _not_ pouting- for the rest of the ride home. She had not been there, she did not understand what Tatsuya was capable of if he was pushed. Not that Uryu understood, but he now knew not to try and find out.

They pulled in to the garage and Uryu unbuckled his seatbelt, ready to leave, but his sister grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Can I can an actual explanation now? Or are you going to keep acting like the child you are and ignore me?"

"I'm not a kid!"  
"Mmhm."

Uryu glared; she knew nothing bothered him more than her 'Mmhm's when he wanted to tell her something. But he was not going to be able to get to his room without talking to her, so he scowled at the ground, squashed his pride and told her what happened. He explained how he and his friends had messed up a bit when playing basketball and might have sorta almost hurt Tatsuya's sister and then how Tatsuya completely unreasonably exploded at them.

"Exploded? Like he started yelling at you or tried to fight you?"

"No, but he _looked_ at us and would have killed us if the teacher hadn't been there!"

"Mmhm."

He continued his story, ending with the lie Tatsuya told the teacher about only overreacting "a bit". Uryu felt better having gotten it all off his chest, but his sister did not look impressed.

"Haven't you mentioned Tatsuya before? Mature looking? Smartest in your class and super athletic?"

"Yeah, but that's not important. What's important is that he's dangerous! Can you teach me how to fight? You do kendo, teach me how to!" The stuck-up look his sister gave him at his demand was far from reassuring.

"Kendo is a martial art meant to help refine technique, not for getting into fights. Besides, from what you told me it sounds like Tatsuya was in the right here and only being a good big brother."

"You didn't see him!"

"Uryu, I want you to really think about what happened and who was in the wrong here. Did you tell those girls they should have stayed out of the line?"

"No, but he overreacted and was super dangerous."

"Mmhm, go think about it when you have a chance. And really? Only looking at you isn't even close to what I would have expected from your reaction."

Then, to a gaping and righteously offended Uryu, she left the car and headed for her room.

For several seconds, Uryu stood watching her. How could she possibly think _he_ was in the wrong here? He was a victim! And, on top of that, she was not going to teach him how to fight to defend himself! Tatsuya was going to _kill_ him and she did not even care!

He needed a plan.

Uryu quickly walked into his room and pulled out a terminal, calling all his friends who had been at the scene during break. The calls were picked up right away and Uryu positioned the holograms so he could see everyone at the same time. All of his friends still looked intimidated by what had just happened, but also seemed much braver than before.

Uryu smirked, "Well, earlier today I think we all became aware of the danger posed by one of our own classmates. Now that I had some time to calm down, I realize we need to do something about this."

He got various nods of agreement and relaxed. They had all been scared at first, but taking a break from being in his presence helped them strengthen their determination. They were all ready to begin the counter attack.

"Um, but, maybe we should not let him realize we're doing something about this?"

Strike that, all except one were ready to counterattack.

Seeing the reactions his suggestion got, Uryu's friend was quick to rephrase.

"I mean- we obviously have to do something. But I- when I told my dad what happened he told me we were at fault and I should 'toughen up', even though we didn't do anything wrong. So maybe as Tatsuya won't do anything that's obviously wrong, and as long as he's like that we'll keep getting in trouble for trying to do anything to him. The adults will always take his side, even if we're the victims!"

Uryu scowled, remembering his own experience trying to get support. "So what? We can take him! Are you scared?"

Unlike the blustering refusal Uryu had been expecting, he received an absolute silence to his question. He looked around, but all his friends were looking down instead of at him.

"Well, okay, me too." Several of them looked up at that, "But if we can't do anything to him then what's the point?"

"I didn't say we shouldn't do anything! But, like, until we figure out a way to fight him we should get the adults on our side! We know he's the smartest guy in the class-" every boy nodded in agreement "- but if we're going to defend ourselves we need to make sure the adults know how dangerous he is. If we can show them what he's actually like, then we can prove that we were right from the beginning!"

Various smirks could be seen on the faces of Uryu and his friends at that statement. It sounded like the work detectives used to do on the old cop show most of them liked, so they were more than ready to try out what they had learned in real life.

Uryu looked up at his friends, feeling his confidence rise with the knowledge that they could _do_ something against Tatsuya. Feeling suddenly reminded of a scene in the cop show, Uryu looked around at his gathered friends with a smirk.

"Well, it's going to be a pleasure working with you all."

* * *

Tatsuya lay with his back on the ground, gasping for air. He had finished his guardian training- in record time- but everyone had insisted on him continuing to train with some other guardians. He voted for this- though he doubted his opinion mattered- because it gave him a chance to train with some of the strongest magicians in the world. He could not confirm, but he had a feeling everyone else voted for this in order to have an excuse to attack him.

Though, it worked out for him, and he had quickly decided he did not care. If he was able to simultaneously get training in and help alleviate some of the family's fear by doing this then he had no reason not to.

A subordinate of Hayama walked in, gathering the attention of Tatsuya and the guardians who had been training him. The man looked slightly surprised- obviously new enough to not have had his emotional reactions trained out of him- at the various injuries the large group of guardians had compared to Tatsuya, but recovered quickly.

"Maya-sama requests an audience with you."

None of the guardians argued as Tatsuya stood up to leave in the middle of their training period; a request from the "Queen of Night" was not to be ignored. Or treated like an actual request.

Tatsuya's face remained blank and calm as he and the butler walked down the hallway. The only sound in the area was the continued quiet footsteps of the butler, Tatsuya having been trained to walk silently long ago. Several times the butler turned his head to make sure Tatsuya was still following him, getting increasingly frustrated with the unnaturally-silent child.

Tatsuya ignored him.

Finally, Tatsuya stood in front of the door from behind which his aunt stood. The prospect of seeing her always made him hesitate, despite his lack of strong emotions. For all that Tatsuya would soon be capable of defeating his aunt in a one-on-one battle, he would never be able to push the head of the Yotsuba family into that situation. This made Maya the single person with the greatest ability to destroy the happy life Miyuki was living.

But, unfortunately, keeping her waiting would not do anything to help prevent that.

Pushing the slight traces of fear away, Tatsuya opened the door and walked inside, giving a small bow. As expected, she already knew he was here. Tatsuya took a deep breath.

Miyuki's involvement allowed Tatsuya access to emotions of a level he could not feel otherwise, and he was having difficulty maintaining his mask as he stood in front of his Aunt.

Unfortunately, she seemed all-too aware of that.

Their stare-off lasted for several long, agonizing seconds as Maya's amused smirk clashed against Tatsuya's military, apathetically cold expression. As the silence reigned on in the dark room, Tatsuya found his fear becoming increasingly harder to hide.

Why had he been called? Based on past experience, it was probably either a job or a punishment.

A job would be fine. It usually involved assassination, but mostly of underworld leaders who attempted to break a contract with the Yotsuba family. They were fairly easy for Tatsuya to take care of and did not impact Miyuki what-so-ever. But, based on how amused his aunt seemed with him, Tatsuya was leaning toward the latter idea.

Crushing down the flood of panic that filled his mind, Tatsuya tried to think of reasons why Maya would have called him. Was it what had happened that morning? He had not broken his cover to an adult and no one would believe the story the children would try to tell without any evidence. Their secrets were safe.

So then what was the problem? Miyuki was angry with him, but she was always annoyed when he jumped into her life unexpectedly. What could he have done to get a private meeting with the Yotsuba head?

The dark room reminded Tatsuya far too much of his Aunt's night for him to relax. Miyuki would do almost anything her aunt asked of her, even if it made her unhappy. She could easily ruin Miyuki's life and it would be _all Tatsuya's fault unless he figured out the problem and found a solution_.

But, suddenly- _finally_ \- Maya decided to take pity on her nephew and began to speak.

"I'm sure you guessed this, but you scared quite a few of our prized magicians earlier today. It was completely undeserved too, all they were trying to do was keep an eye on you and Miyuki. Tell me, Tatsuya, why don't you have the self control and subtly to resolve these sorts of problems acceptably?"

"My deepest apologies, Maya-sama. I shall work to correct this immediately."

She nodded along, obviously having expected that exact answer from him. Tatsuya also relaxed slightly, realizing the problem was the fear he had increased in the short moment he had shown his rage. Nothing that could not be resolved.

Maya's nodding stopped, though her deadly smile remained.

"Good, good… I'm sure you've already realized what you did to cause this, so I won't spell it out for you. Instead, I'll explain what's about to happen."

Tatsuya simply nodded, waiting for his instructions. Luckily, an amused Maya meant she somewhat approved of his actions and was only doing this so as to not create needless conflict between him and the other Yotsuba family members. Ironic, considering she had done nothing in previous years to stop their fear of his magic.

"The children are not an issue. Without you actually doing anything, and with the adults viewing the situation as they did they are not a concern. I suppose, given that they are part of Miyuki's life, that you wish to leave them alive?"

Tatsuya, again, answered with a single nod.

"They are children, so I'm sure their curiosity will get the better of them and they'll attempt to look into you. Do not let them find our secrets…" she paused, emphasizing the treat and unspoken punishment for failure. "Beyond that, feel free to ignore them; they are not a concern."  
Again, Tatsuya nodded.

"As for the fear you generated among us… I have decided to agree to a suggestion made by one of the butlers who watched you. If they train hand-to-hand combat with you they will get a better idea of how to defeat you if you try to rebel against our family. I have decided to honor their request."

Tatsuya was smart enough not to mention how Maya knew he would both never defy Miyuki and did not specialize in hand-to-hand combat. The Yotsuba family had no real defense against a long-range attack from him, sparring would not change that. It was a pitiful excuse, especially for the Yotsuba family.

"It should go without saying, however, that you will not genuinely fight back. You can use hand-to-hand combat all you want, but even if some of the guardians pull out their CADs you will not retaliate with your own... abilities. Allow them a chance to delude themselves into thinking they could handle you if you rebelled, and leave it at that."

Another nod.

Maya's amused smirk returned, but Tatsuya now understood why it was there. She found it funny, how her prized magicians were so fearful they would settle for a weak illusion of security. Funny, because the family had the same fear of _her_ , only expressing it as love and admiration instead. She had always said they were alike, and Tatsuya was starting to understand what she meant.

"Dismissed."

Tatsuya bowed, leaving the room and ignoring the dangerous eyes which followed him until the moment he closed the door. The smirk which followed him out never wavered, even after he had left the room.

* * *

Miyuki could not help but smile as her mother's guardian put the finishing touches on her outfit. It was going to be the first time she had seen any of her extended family in a while, so she wanted to dress up for them.

Though she was slightly annoyed at how everyone who saw her kept calling her 'cute'. Was it really too much to ask for them to describe her as 'beautiful' for a change?

Apparently, for someone her age, it was. At least according to Sakurai-San.

Miyuki took a deep breath to calm down; she would not let herself act like the child they were all accusing her of being when they called her cute. Once she was confident she had a perfected her mature smile, Miyuki walked into the dining hall, curtsying politely to her Aunt just as she had been taught to. Her polite (cute) smile was returned by the woman- though it looked a bit more like a smirk, coming from her. Miyuki did not really understand what the smile meant and moved to take her seat as quickly as possible while still being polite.

Miyuki sat next to her Mother, who was sitting next to Maya. As this was not an official meeting, Miyuki and her mother were the only people in line of succession at the house, and she wondered why her aunt had spontaneously insisted on having a family dinner that night.

Then again, it was also a little nice. The entire family was focused on MIyuki, her aunt, and her mother, making Miyuki feel a little embarrassed. She was used to people staring at her, but not with the kind of awe and worship she could find from the members of branch families.

Sakurai Hitomi, her mother's guardian, was also there, though she was forced to stand along the wall with the rest of the guardians. It seemed a bit unfair to Miyuki, but every guardian seemed perfectly content with their lives of service, so she knew better than to say anything.

(She had asked before, but Hitomi did not have the heart to tell Miyuki that, after the training they went through, something as minor as this did not even register to them.)

(Reminding her that her brother had gone through the same thing would have been even worse.)

Miyuki continued engaging in polite conversation with the members of branch families, enjoying how respectful even the adults were to her. It was not something she was used to yet, so Miyuki found it a little funny.

The food was served and everyone began to eat, but even then Maya did not say anything. It seemed like she was anticipating something, but Miyuki had no idea what that could be.

Eventually Miyuki's gaze wandered to her brother, and she had to do a double take in her surprise. His face was still as calm as ever, but peeking out from under his left sleeve Miyuki could see that a disgusting deep-purple bruise had formed recently. It was almost hidden, but not quite enough.

She looked him over again and saw that his right hand was also sporting a bluish-purple lump and how, even half-way through dinner, he seemed slightly out of breath.

He had not come late, Miyuki saw him walk in with Sakurai, so he must have gotten his injuries before he entered. How though? He was really athletic- Miyuki knew every team at school wanted him to join- and he was a Yotsuba at the Yotsuba compound. _Nothing_ should be able to hurt him.

She glanced up at his face and saw him looking back at her, causing Miyuki to flush and turn away. How long had he known she was watching him? She subtly glanced over again and, to her annoyance, saw that he had re-adjusted his sleeve to hide the bruises on his arms.

After a few deep breaths to calm herself, Miyuki's expression morphed into a scowl (pout). He was always watching her, but he never told her anything. She barely knew _anything_ about him! She knew some of her _classmates_ better than she knew her brother.

And then there was what happened earlier that day. He avoids her and does nothing to become closer to her for years, but then jumps in to rescue her? And the way he had acted- even as a guardian he did not have to act so protective! Now her friends had crushes on her brother, and some boys in their class were terrified of him. He could not just pretend to be the caring, overprotective older brother after years of not trying to get to know Miyuki.

And yes, she might have overreacted with how she stomped away from him (as soon as she calmed down she cursed herself for how childish she had been), but he had no _right_ to do that!

It was highly inappropriate for someone of her status to talk about or look at the guardians while at the table, so Miyuki looked around and saw everyone was still deep in their own discussions. She turned to her mother and pulled the woman's sleeve.

Yotsuba Miya glanced down at her only daughter, raising an eyebrow at the 'come closer' motion her daughter made with her hands. Deciding to oblige the girl, Miya leaned in and let her daughter whisper to her.

"What happened to Tatsuya?"

Miya froze. That had… not been what she was expecting. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her sister smirk at Miyuki's comment and glance over at Tatsuya. Miya looked over as well to see a silent conversation happen between her sister and her son.

Maya glanced down at Tatsuya's sleeve, then looked up with a raised eyebrow.

 _You let her find out_?

Tatsuya gave a small, barely-noticeable bow.

 _I apologize. It will not happen again_.

A slight tilt of the head, coupled by a dangerous smirk.

 _If you are making mistakes here, do you really think you will be able to keep your secrets hidden at school?_ She glanced at Miyuki from where she was sitting _. Perhaps you need some help looking after her._

Miya watched in shock as her son straightened up and glared at her sister, daring her to go through with her unspoken threat. His reaction seemed to amuse Maya, who leaned back into her seat, an unusually content smile on her face.

Whatever entertainment Maya had been hoping for when she arranged this dinner, she had apparently just gotten it. A familiar, dangerous _hate_ overwhelmed Miya for a moment at the thought of her sister, but she quickly suppressed it. At least until they were out of the eyes of their family.

Miya turned back to her daughter, who was giving her a confused look and wondering why Miya had turned to her sister for so long. The content smile on her aunt's face also seemed to fill Miyuki with a mix of confusion and fear.

Good, she was learning not to trust the head of the Yotsuba.

"I think he left a little while ago and got into a fight. He doesn't have magic, remember? There isn't much he can do against people when they want to attack him."

That was a complete lie, but Miyuki did not need to know that. The monster that Tatsuya had become was not something she wanted her daughter associating with, so a white lie would have to do.

The little voice in her head which whispered to her that _she_ was the one who turned him into that was steadily ignored.

Miyuki seemed satisfied with that answer, nodding once and turning back to her food and conversation with her extended family.

Meanwhile, Miya sent her sister a barely noticeable glare which, if anything, only seemed to amuse her even more.

Miya really hated her family.

* * *

Tatsuya remained silent as he stood outside the house, keeping an eye on Miyuki's room through elemental sight. His sister had spent the last two hours talking to her friends, and, for once, they were actually discussing useful information. Uryu, the boy who had spoken up against him when his group almost hurt Miyuki, was gathering allies for 'revealing all the secrets Tatsuya had before the end of the school year'.

Miyuki was about as impressed as he was with that suggestion.

Though, for her, it more had to do with the fact that she believed his only important secret was his family than anything else. The idea of losing her family's privacy bothered her, and she made sure to discourage her friends from doing too much. It appeared she had very little confidence in Tatsuya.

Well, that was only to be expected; Maya constantly 'asked' Tatsuya to keep Miyuki from finding out about his abilities. So long as he could still protect her, he could simultaneously be reassured that Miyuki would not act carelessly due to a belief that her brother would always be able to protect her.

At least, that is what Maya had told him, and why Tatsuya kept Miyuki from finding out. Only she truly knew the reason why she had ordered Tatsuya to do that.

From the conversation Miyuki was having with her friends, it seemed as if they would be participating due to developing a level of affection for him. A small, muted flash of guilt rushed through him; he would never be able to return those emotions to them, he was physically incapable of that.

Luckily for Tatsuya, the girls were so excited that they began carefully detailing the plan for Miyuki. The boys would try to surprise him to get him to react in a way that revealed his true 'evil nature', while the girls would stand at a distance and film him. Once that happened, they could show their families and get the adults to 'take care of him'.

Miyuki asked what the boys meant by that, but neither girl seemed to know.

It was not the worst plan Tatsuya had ever heard of, but it _was_ about what he expected from children. He was especially amused with their idea that - once the adults became aware of how dangerous he was - they would be able to take care of him.

Well, they were kids, it was to be expected.

Tatsuya took a deep breath, suddenly realizing how arrogant that line of thought was. He had already been caught off guard once and revealed part of himself, it could always happen again if he was too confident. Miyuki's safety could be put in jeopardy if too many secrets were revealed, he had to be careful.

The wounds he had sustained while 'training' with the other guardians were almost healed, so Tatsuya stood up and began practicing. He would usually practice systematic magic- his greatest weakness- at night, but that night Tatsuya decided to do more combat training. He would need to be as prepared as possible for when the children began to investigate him.

The sheer absurdity of that (unfortunately true) statement would have to be ignored for the time being. He would have felt more confident being ordered to destroy a country than he did going to school and keeping his secrets without ruining Miyuki's current life.

Well, Maya always loved to see what she could do to challenge him, he would just have to view it as a training exercise.

After all, regardless of what Uryu thought of him, to Tatsuya he was just another variable to consider in his sisters artificially ordinary life.

* * *

Uryu walked through the gates to school with his head in the air. As his sister yelled 'bye' to him several of his teammates joined him on their walk through the gate. Before, Tatsuya had been able to make it seem like he was cornering all of them individually, but that would not happen again. No, now they were united.

Their allies (the girls) would film Tatsuya's true self. They could get the adults on their side and then they would be able to make everyone see that they had been telling the truth.

Besides, Miyuki had not seemed to like Tatsuya very much; she would probably be grateful if they could reveal the truth about her brother to the world.

The idea of a grateful Miyuki turned the flame within the boys into a roaring determination, eating away at their other priorities.

They. Would. Not. Fail.

Even as Tatsuya walked into the room, their confidence remained. The boy seemed to be completely distracted by a book he was reading, only putting it down when the bell rang for class to start. His expression was normal, calm, near-emotionless. Uryu could see how Tatsuya was able to trick so many people into thinking he was normal.

"Tatsuya, could you read for us where we left off?"

The teacher's request was- as always -met with immediate compliance from Tatsuya. A detailed account of the early appearance of magicians was explained to the class, easily ignored by the members of the team. Rather than focus on the words, Uryu and his friends spent their time observing Tatsuya for things they had not noticed before.

In the place he was meant to be annotating the book, Uryu began typing down notes on his discoveries.

Tatsuya seemed to have no trouble reading, even with complicated magic-terms which anyone else in the class would stumble over.

(Except Miyuki; she never stumbled over anything).

His posture was impossibly straight and military, his feet spread the perfect distance apart to react to anything. For all that he was reading, he seemed to be simultaneously aware of everything around him, calm and alert all at once. Based on his quick glance back at the beginning of the period, Uryu was sure he knew they were watching him. Despite this, he continued confidently reading, his attention never waning.

They had all been subconsciously aware of these parts of Tatsuya before, even admiring him for it, but until now they had never registered how odd it all was. How he was always able to behave exactly as he wanted to- no nervous ticks or reactions- always moving with a purpose. It was no wonder he was so good at sports, no one else was always in control of their body.

"Thank you Tatsuya. Chandra, why don't you pick up where he left off?'

Uryu blinked, having forgotten he was still in a classroom. Chandra continued reading, and Uryu hurried to find their place in the text. His notes were not as detailed as he would like them to be, but he had just realized how luckily it was that he and his friends were starting then.

After all, they all had PE later that day.

If there was any time he and his friends would be able to take extensive notes on him, it would be then. They were going to be playing basketball, and there was never a time when they were more in their element than while playing. Taking mental notes on him would be child's-play. (And they were already eleven, they were _not_ children).

Suddenly, Uryu's train of thought was cut off as an unknown feeling of dread washed over him. In a second, the overwhelming feeling of a predator leaning over him filled his mind. It's jaws opened, ready to take a bite.

Then it was gone.

Uryu looked up and thought he saw Tatsuya casually looking down at his book, not a care in the world. After all, he could kill Uryu at any time, what was the hurry?

Uryu clenched his fists, the feeling of being toyed with coursing through his body into anger. Sure, Tatsuya had not actually _done_ anything, but Uryu was sure that had been Tatsuya. He was obviously being thought of as an amusing pet; someone who Tatsuya could torture with the full force of his rage at random intervals during class. The anger he had felt towards Tatsuya returned full force, drowning out both the fear and arrogance he had felt earlier that day.

The idea that Tatsuya had only been slightly irritated as he glanced back never occurred to him. Any mouse looking up at an irritated demon would view the world the exact same way.

It was only natural.

* * *

Finally. PE. The last period of the day. Their last chance that day to observe Tatsuya.

The girls had not been allowed to bring the cameras to class, but Uryu was sure they would be able to arrange a party or after school event or something where they could observe Tatsuya. Until then, they would not -could not- allow a single opportunity to observe him be wasted.

He belatedly realized how much that made him sound like one of the mad scientists in a show his sister watched, and vowed to never think that again.

Uryu took a deep breath, his burning desire to prove his sister wrong reigniting. The teams were split fairly evenly, with the basketball players separated so the team with one less player also had Tatsuya. They did not have an exact plan per-say, but Uryu was sure that as long as they watched and challenged Tatsuya he would show them what they were looking for.

The teams lined up across from each other and Tatsuya finally looked up.

Uryu's breath caught in his throat.

He inwardly cursed himself. Even just a casual glance- not even close to what had happened that day- was enough to increase his heart rate. Even though this was just the casual Tatsuya he was used to, he felt like he could not move. Even though there was an adult. Even though it would just be a game. Even though-

Uryu clenched his fists, shaking himself out of his frozen state. His success inspired the other members of his team to do the same (though a majority of the team had no idea why the players suddenly froze) and soon the two teams were standing across from each other, determination cementing.

Tatsuya was looking at them with contemplative confusion, as if he had never seen someone react to him like that before. So what? Did he only use that scary side on stronger people? He was just an elementary school student, who else could he have possibly used that scary side on?

Uryu's thoughts came to an abrupt end and the teacher began to start the game. A holographic scoreboard appeared in the middle of the court, displaying the current score of zero-zero.

Bellow it, a countdown of numbers appeared, and everyone tensed for the start of the match. Tatsuya seemed to have decided to put his thoughts on hold for the time being and prepared to attack (play).

"Five. Four. Three. Two…. One!

The moment the game began Uryu ran forward, preferring offensive playing to defensive. It was just for PE, so no roles were assigned to anyone, but the 'official players' all knew how each other played. He was soon blocked by one of his friends who had been placed on the other team and passed the ball to his teammate, allowing them to score.

Yes! Scoring the first basket set the enthusiasm levels of each team for the rest of the game, and Uryu allowed a smirk to cross his face. He blocked an incoming pass and passed to another one of his teammates who went in for a shot.

His happiness made him take a second longer to realize the shot had been blocked by Tatsuya. It was only when his brain registered Tatsuya had already passed him that it finally told him to move.

Snapping out of his frozen state, he and his teammates ran after Tatsuya, only to watch as the ball cleanly fell through the basket. A wave of humbled embarrassment passed through Uryu, and it was soon joined by an offended anger.

Sure, Tatsuya was only playing the game and following the rules, but it was still interpreted by Uryu as a personal attack and challenge against them. It was as if Tatsuya was standing hundreds of feet away, looking over his shoulder with a smirk.

Do you really think you can beat me?

 _Yes_ , Uryu confidently told the Tatsuya in his head. _We'll get both your secrets, and win the match_!

While he was having this internal argument, Uryu was sending Tatsuya the strongest glare he could muster. Compared to some of the people Tatsuya had fought it was nothing, but it did cause him to turn to Uryu and look at him in confusion. Miyuki also stared, having noticed the boy glaring at her brother.

Uryu, still distracted by his internal conversation, did not notice.

The game began again, but this time Uryu had a more important mission to think about than the score of a silly elementary school game (though winning the game was a close second). He found every member of the let's-reveal-Tatsuya's-secrets-committee (they were still working on the name) and whispered the plan.

There was a PE teacher. If they could make Tatsuya angry, then the PE teacher would know the truth about him. Once an adult knew the truth then they could tell their parents and actually be believed. Uryu would not have to listen to is sister going "Mmhm" to anything he said every again!

The first plan was simple. It was playing a little dirty, but the PE teacher loved them, so Uryu was confident they would not get in trouble. Whenever Tatsuya had the ball, the team members on the committee would push, shove, and generally bother him until he snapped and revealed his true shelf to the world.

Uryu could not help the smirk on his face when his friend (purposely) threw himself onto Tatsuya in a vague attempt at getting the ball. It was perfect;Tatsuya had just been thrown the ball, his friend had a large running start, once his friend was within three feet of Tatsuya he crouched down slightly and threw himself into the air, directly above the blue-eyed Shiba. Tatsuya paused, turning toward the sudden shadow above him, a look of mild confusion on his face.

It was as if he was watching a slowed down recording. Uryu's friend had jumped so that both his jump and gravity would pull him towards Tatsuya. There was no time to change course; no way to pull his friend out of the way. With shining eyes, Uryu watched as Tatsuya… calmly… dodged.

The loud smack of Uryu's friend hitting the floor was not quite the image of flawless victory he had been picturing.

For a half-second Tatsuya glanced at his classmate with a raised eyebrow. Then, while everyone else was still frozen in surprise, he turned to the basket and shot.

The ball went through the basket flawlessly, like always.

Another rush of embarrassment and anger flooded through Uryu as he realized they had not only failed to anger Tatsuya, but had also lost their advantage in the game. As his friend began to dribble the ball toward him, Uryu forgot about Tatsuya and went on the offensive.

Tatsuya was only one person, he could not make up for a whole team. They would be able to win so long as they kept the ball away from the powerful boy.

(Actually, if he wanted to, Tatsuya _could_ play with the skill and power of a whole team, but that would mean going against Maya's orders and no one wanted that).

As soon as Uryu's friend was able to score a basket, the group went back to trying to trick Tatsuya. Then Tatsuya would score another basket and they would be back to trying to raise their own score. Then they would try and trick Tatsuya, then they would be back to trying to get another basket.

With half the teams being made up of girls who did not care about basketball, and the boys on Tatsuya's team not actually trying to win, it was not surprising that the game soon became a steady repetition of scoring. The PE teacher's loud yells that defense needed to step up its game was ignored completely.

Soon, the boys became frustrated with how boring the game had gotten and tried to change it up a bit. One boy attempted to use a trick shot to surprise Tatsuya, but only ended up sending it flying to the girls instead. Miyuki looked up in surprise as she saw a ball heading toward her for the second time that week.

Then, in an instant, Tatsuya caught it. The boys all froze, half-terrified and half-triumphant, knowing they would get to see that version of Tatsuya again. The PE teacher was on their side of the court, so he would feel the full force of whatever Tatsuya had done to them.

Then Tatsuya turned and, even from the distance he was at, shot the ball into the basket.

The boys blinked and stared after Tatsuya, confusion painted cleanly across their features. He only raised an eyebrow at them in response.

Then, the game continued, ending with the Uryu's team's victory only because the warning bell rang right before Tatsuya was able to take his shot.

It sure did not feel like a victory.

* * *

The locker room was soon packed full of boys changing for their next class. Luckily having PE at the end of the day meant the boys had as much time to change as they wanted to, so long as their parents did not mind. Uryu had considered doing something to Tatsuya while they were in the locker room, but no adults were present and, somehow, Tatsuya always disappeared when it was time to change.

Though, unfortunately, his friends on the 'Let's-reveal-Tatsuya's-secrets-committee' were far less intelligent. He realized that when one of his friends came over and conspiritally whispered into his ear.

"Hey, let's go find Tatsuya. I'll bet we can surprise him while he's changing."

For his stupidity, Uryu instantly honored his position of responsibility as their leader and hit him.

"Ow! Why-"

"He _always_ disappears when it's time to change you idiot. Do you even know where to look to find him! Besides, even if we do scare him it'll be just like the _incident_ all over again. There's no teachers around, so we'll just be at his mercy until one of them finds us. _I'm_ not scared, but you need to think about these sort of things before suggesting a plan!"

(The surrounding uninvolved 'civilians' who stared at the two whispering boys in confusion were easily ignored).

"I thought we could get the girls to film him! If they do, then it doesn't matter if we're alone, we'll have the whole thing on tape. And I- I don't know where he is, but he's probably somewhere he can change in, so if we just look around those places we can find him… probably… maybe?"

"And the girls are going to help us."

"...Sure."

"Nah, they always take forever to change," Uryu rejected. "But we might be able to find him right after he's done changing. School's almost over, so there would probably be a parent nearby…"

The excitement on the surrounding boys' faces encouraged him to continue.

"And- and when we find him, he'll have just changed so maybe we can- we can take his clothes or something. We'll just make him angry enough for the parents nearby to notice, and- I mean I'm staying late today 'cause my sister has club, what about you guys? Can you stay?"

The boys who could stay stepped forward, quickly splitting into pairs to look for Tatsuya. The improvised plan was sounding more and more reassuring by the second, and Uryu's determination soured.

"Dismissed!"

"Yes, _sir_!"

* * *

Uryu had split off into a team with the oldest boy in their squad. They were looking around the Gym end of the school- had been for several minutes, and Uryu's excitement was still at its peak. His motivation was souring; the only problem with the whole experience was that his partner was much less enthusiastic.

"Are we even sure what we saw really happened?"

They had been quiet for so long, that for a moment Uryu thought he had imagined the question. It took him a second to blink and turn to his partner.

"What?"

"Are we sure what we saw really happened?" the boy repeated, the words now coming out less like a mumble and more like an accusation, "I mean, I remember being scared, but I don't even really know what he did. Didn't we just exaggerate it to each other and raise him up in our minds. He probably didn't do anything-"

"You're losing your loyalty now?!"

"I just- it doesn't sound like him at all! Why are you so willing to believe the worst of your classmate?"

Now that Uryu thought about it, he was not sure why he had immediately assumed it was Tatsuya who had made them all scared. He had just... _known_ somehow… felt in his subconscious that Tatsuya was the most dangerous thing he had ever seen.. For all Uryu knew, it could have been someone or _something_ else entirely.

"And… if it was something else, we'd know why he didn't react to any of our attempts…"

"Exactly," the boy agreed. A flush of embarrassment flooded Uryu at the idea that they had done all this for no reason. He clenched his fists and turned to the other boy.

"Well then, we, I- we…" he belatedly realized that, even with his dramatic turn, he had no idea what he wanted to say. "Then we'll- let's just… keep looking. We'll look for a little bit longer, and if nothing actually happens then it's just something we imagined and we'll move on to something else."

The other boy, Yuusuke, Uryu suddenly remembered, thought about Uryu's suggestion and nodded.

"Alright, we'll just keep looking for a little bit longer," Yuusuke agreed, "Maybe we'll figure out what it actually was while we're going around looking for him."

Uryu relaxed slightly, the feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment gone. The pair walked through the school, checking all the possible hiding places they could think of next to the gym. As they continued, the circles they were making got larger and larger, until they were walking on the edge of the school's property.

By now, they had pretty much given up hope of finding Tatsuya and were deeply engrossed in a debate (argument) over which of two magic high schools was better. Even non-magicians got to watch the nine schools' competition, and it had become something of a Japanese tradition for all students to watch it.

Neither Uryu or Yuusuke were magicians, but they were both sure they were right about which school was the best.

"Are you boys alone?"

Both boys paused mid-sentence (having been talking over each other), and turned to find an adult man standing behind them. He was in his late thirties, and smiled pleasantly at them.

Uryu had plenty of time before his sister arrived, so Uryu did not see any problem in answering the man, responding with a childishly rude, "Yeah? Why do you care?!"

Annoyingly enough, the man just continued to smile. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of chocolate, holding it out to show them.

"I bought some chocolate at the store, but ended up buying too much. I was going to give it to my daughter who goes to this school, but if you want some I'd be happy to give it to you."

Uryu saw Yuusuke lick his lips and whisper, "Those are my favorite kinds."

Uryu looked back at the nice man, and had to agree that the chocolate did seem pretty yummy. And there was no one else around, so they would not have to worry about sharing with anyone else if they took some.

"Okay, thank you mister."

The two walked over and took the offered chocolate, happily devouring it. It had tasted just like Uryu was hoping for, a perfect end to a pretty bad day. The man then looked into the bag, and then gasped as he realized it was empty.

Uryu and Yuusuke blushed, feeling bad for having eaten all the nice man's chocolate, but the man just smiled again.

"Don't worry about that, I have much more in my car. While I wait for my daughter would you like to have some more?" The two boys made eye contact, excitement obvious on both their faces.

"Yes please!" Uryu ran forward, following the nice man as he brought them to the car. His excitement was practically bursting; instead of something silly like scaring Tatsuya, he was going to get a bunch of privately hoped his sister would take a long, long time to come pick him up.

Suddenly, Uryu yawned, a sudden wave of exhaustion overwhelming him. He had no idea why he was so tired in the middle of the day, but he had to blink his eyes open to avoid tripping over his own feet.

He had felt more than enough embarrassment for one day.

The man brought them off the school property and towards his car, opening the side door and leaning in to get the chocolate. He pushed around inside for a moment before he called out to the children.

"Here it is! I have a ton of chocolate, would you two like to look in and see which one you want?"

Uryu and Yuusuke were barely able to agree, fighting back heavy yawns. But, regardless, they decided to go see the different kinds of chocolate the nice person had for them to choose from.

Only to be stopped by an arm that Uryu could swear had not been there just a second ago. He looked over and followed the arm until he could see it was Tatsuya stopping them from taking another step.

Tatsuya looked over at the kidnapper and gave a pleasant smile Uryu had never seen on him before. It remained on Tatsuya's face as he looked up at the nice man and childishly tilted his head.

"What are you doing here?"

Tatsuya's voice was enough to allow the nice man to blink out of his stupor, causing him to shake his head and look down at Tatsuya with another one of his nice smiles.

"I was going to invite these boys to some chocolate I had for my daughter. Would you like any? There are plenty to share with you as well." The nice man made a motion toward his car, and if Uryu was not so tired he would tell the man there was no need to be nice to a monster like Tatsuya.

But Tatsuya made no comment on the man's suggestion. Instead, he glanced between the man and his classmates once, before looking up at the man with a smile a fraction less warm than it had been a second before.

"That's some pretty impressive power. Is it ancient magic? I haven't seen much like that, but I suppose it's your best bet for making someone tired if you don't want there to do any leftover traces when you're done. It's much harder to find traces of magic in a body than drugs after all. What is someone who has the ability to get his hands on something like this doing at an random elementary school?"

Uryu felt too tired to think about what Tatsuya was saying, but he was glad that Tatsuya did not seem to be interested in having any of the chocolate for himself. Well, that made sense, Uryu had never seen Tatsuya eat any sweets during break, so he was pretty sure Tatsuya did not like sugar.

The kind man seemed to be shocked for a moment before he smiled down at Tatsuya, "I'm sorry? I'm not sure what you're talking about. I was just offering chocolate to the boys-"

"Why?"

Uryu rubbed his eyes again and saw Yuusuke doing the same. Tatsuya's question sounded casual enough, but there was an underlying hint of something threatening. Dangerous. Predatory.

Uryu wanted to say something to warn the nice man, but felt too tired for it to be worth the effort.

The man frowned for a moment before kneeling and turning all his attention to Tatsuya, "I just had some extra chocolate. If you want some you should look and decide which one you want. You don't need to talk about things you don't understand to earn some. Here, have a bite."

The nice man held out his hand, offering Tatsuya a single chocolate. It was covered in a light pink wrapper, and Uryu was tempted to snatch it out of Tatsuya's undeserving hands.

Tempted, but too tired to actually try.

"You said you were waiting for your daughter. That, coupled with the feminine appearance of some of the chocolate, implies you're after young girls too-" the man looked like he wanted to respond, but Tatsuya continued talking. "It would be bad enough if you caused an incident at school and inconvenienced her, but if you might actually be after her… that changes the situation entirely. I wonder, all three of us are relatively attractive children. What would you do if you saw a young, privileged, naive, beautiful girl walking with her friends after school?"

The man backed up a single step, something almost resembling... fear dancing across his eyes. But that made no sense; Tatsuya had not changed his calm expression and the kind man was an adult. What would he have to be scared of?

Luckily, the nice man seemed to calm down and held out his hand again, "Why don't you just try one of these? It might change your mind and it can't hurt to just try one. Everyone else had some."

Tatsuya looked up at the man, still keeping his arm in front of his two classmates.

"I suggest you leave this place."

To Uryu, it sounded a lot like the kind of not-really "suggestions" his sister would make when he started bothering her. He had never heard a kid use that tone of voice, and definitely not to an adult.

The kind man glared for a moment, showing a flash of genuine anger. Uryu wondered why Tatsuya was trying so hard to get the nice man angry; all he had done was offer chocolate.

Or maybe Tatsuya just hated chocolate that much.

"Now young boy, that was-"

"I apologize, I misspoke. That was not a suggestion."

"I- you-"

" _Leave_."

Tatsuya and the man stared at each other, seven feet apart, all pretense of politeness gone. While Tatsuya did not have an intimidating expression, his face was completely and utterly blank of all emotion. The man was steadily becoming more and more enraged.

"Get in the car," the man growled, "right now."

"No. Leave."

Suddenly the man pulled out a white, rectangular object and pressed some buttons, causing it to glow. Uryu was about to finally ask what was going on, until he noticed the ground swaying right where they stood. A ringing sound reverberated through the area and Uryu's eyes widened at the mess of colors which covered his vision. There was noise and color and light- noise- loud- bright- too much- it hurt- sound- bright- too much-

Uryu fell, colliding with the ground. Pain soared through his body along with an towering wave of panic.

 _It was Tatsuya_ , his subconscious helpfully supplied. _He's doing this_.

They were going to die.

A loud _**bang**_ resounded, and Uryu lifted his head from its spot on the ground to see what had caused the noise. It was Tatsuya, sitting with his knee on the man's back, his arm pulling the man's at an awkward angle.

"I'll ask again," Tatsuya said, his voice quickly losing its emotionless, calm state, " _Why. Are. You. Here_?"

"I- because… what was..." He must have been quiet for a second too long, because he suddenly began screaming in pain as Tatsuya continued to move his arm.

"I _will_ break it. Answer me."

The man continued to hesitate, before muttering, "This is a fancy, privileged school. All I- I just, I was going to blackmail parents for money." Tatsuya continued to push his arm up. "I- _ow_!- got the money and magic stuff from my parents- they're rich. They want me to join the army with my power, but I didn'- _AH_!- I didn't want to go to war! That's all that happened! And yeah, I- if I saw a cute girl I would have taken her too, but she probably would have made it out aliv-"  
The words died in the man's throat. Even if Uryu did not feel so tired he would not have been able to say anything to help the man; Tatsuya's expression had surpassed even the monsters in Uryu's wildest imagination.

The sky seemed to blacken, but Tatsuya's eyes glowed with power. Suddenly a pressure- not like a solid weight, but more like a thickness in the air- filled the area as Tatsuya stared at the man, calmly considering whether he deserved to live. The pressure was suffocating, sending Uryu's body into a panic, but Tatsuya continued to gaze down at the man.

In the tense silence, it was obvious once again; they powerless compared to the boy in front of them. All they could do was wait for him to decide their fate.

"Give me your CAD. Tell me where your other ones are."

The man was so shocked- relieved- astonished- at being allowed to live that for a moment he did not say anything. And, based on the scream which came shortly after, that was a moment too long for Tatsuya.

"Five… Four… Three," Tatsuya counted off, and Uryu realized five seconds had never felt so long before it was _this_ Tatsuya doing the counting. "Two-"

Whatever frozen state the man had been in, he was able to snap out of it at the last second, screaming, " _The car_! It's in in the car. I have one at home, and, and, I have one in my hand, but that's it! I swear, this is all that-"

The man trailed off, staring in astonishment at the spot where his car had been. Uryu stared too, as he had seen the giant lump of metal glow and turn to dust the second Tatsuya turned his eyes to it.

Uryu glanced down again, and saw that the CAD that had been in the man's hand was also gone.

Uryu forced his eyes away and saw that Yuusuke was also kneeling on the ground, shaking in fear. For several seconds Uryu tried to speak, but all that came out were scared, rasping gasps.

"I will always be watching."

Uryu saw the man's eyes widen, coming to the realization that his prayers had been answered and Tatsuya would allow him to live for a little longer.

"However, if you _ever_ come near students at this school again, _t_ h ** _e_ r**e **_w_** i _l_ l be no _**g** r_o **u** _p_ , o ** _r_ ga** _ni **z**_ **a** _t_ io **n** , or c **o** _un **t**_ **r** y t _ **h** a_t **c** a _n_ s ** _a_ v**e y _o_ **u _fr_** o _m_ **_m_** e. A _ **m** I_ u **n** de **r** _ **s** t_ **o** o ** _d_**?"

"Ye- _yes_ , yes, of course. I'll leave- I won't come back-"

"Well, we'll have to wait and see what happens, won't we?

Then, Tatsuya stood, waiting for the man to leave the school grounds. The man turned to the street before remembering what Tatsuya - because it _couldn't_ have been anyone else - had done to his car. He stood for several seconds in confusion, but saw Tatsuya's patience was quickly running out and left on foot.

As the man left his sight, Uryu noticed the pressure had disappeared. He took in several large gasps of air, imitating a fish on land with this desperate, needy breaths. .

However, despite now having access to air, the sleepy feeling, stress, and sudden absence of that stress had left Uryu more than a little light headed. He saw the world tilt before he realized his legs had failed him, the last thing he saw being Tatsuya's cold gaze staring down at him.

* * *

When Uryu woke up he had to blink a few times before he could see. He was in the school's health office, with Yuusuke laid down on the bed adjacent to his. Apparently noticing he woke up, the nurse walked over to his bed and sent him a smile which told him _nothing_ about what he was doing there.

"How are you feeling right now?"

"I- um, fine? A little tired? Did I fall asleep in class?"

"Do you know how you got here?"

Uryu blinked and tried to remember what had just happened. He… had been with Yuusuke, and they had been playing baske- no they had been… looking for Tatsuya. They were doing their jobs in the organization and then….

No concrete memories continued on from there.

Flashes of scenes, however, still appeared in his mind. He and Yuusuke had been talking to someone… that person had been amazing and nice and super cool, judging from the rush of positive emotions Yuusuke felt when he thought about the man. But then… there had been Tatsuya… Tatsuya had separated him- them, Yuusuke had been there too- from the man… and there had been a car to get into… and something about kidnapping, and the-

Uryu's body tensed up suddenly, having a vague recollection of Tatsuya attacking the nice man and bringing him down. And kidnapping… could it be that Tatsuya had been trying to take them, but the man stopped him?

"I- I think- it was-"

"Shh, shh, just calm down. Breathe, everything's fine, just tell me what you saw."

"I-" he took a big breath of air, "I think there was a man- a nice man- who I saw when I was with Yuusuke. Did he get hurt- no, wait, he left…." An image of Tatsuya glaring at the nice man until he left filled his mind, "and I remember feeling really, really tired… the last thing I saw before falling asleep was Tatsuya… I think."

The nurse nodded, giving him a serene smile. "You should be fine then. Tatsuya is the one who brought you here, you just got really tired and started walking away from school grounds, but when he tried to tell you to stop you fell unconscious. I think you need to get more sleep young man,you could have gotten really hurt."

Uryu stared at the nurse in shock. Had she just believed everything Tatsuya had told her without hesitation? He was evil! He must have been trying to take them, but the nice man made him give up on that. Uryu was sure Tatsuya was the reason he was so tired, how could an adult be so blind to that? First his sister and now-

Could it be a conspiracy? Uryu had heard his sister use the word and asked her what it was, and it sounded a lot like what was going on. If the nurse was part of or being tricked by an evil organization, it would explain why Uryu's every attempt at getting adults to see reason had been foiled. He would have to tell the other members of the squad about this.

"I think you'll be fine if you rest up a little more. Go back to sleep, I already explained what happened to your older sister when she came to pick you up and she'll try to make sure you get more sleep. She's in the lobby, how about you rest for another half- hour and then I'll check you out, okay."

Uryu nodded once, not quite able to stop himself from muttering 'conspiracy' under his breath and glaring at the old woman. She had been so easily tricked by the evil organization and might even be part of it herself! He would never foolish enough to trust her again.

* * *

"Yes, I'm sure they'll be more suspicious, but I decided that was a risk worth taking. You know it would have been much more dangerous to let that man stay near Miyuki's school than it is to let a few children think poorly of me."

"Need I remind you," asked the smooth, malicious voice of Yotsuba Maya, "That you are also one of those 'children'?"

Tatsuya said nothing in return, though he could hear Maya chuckle slightly over the phone.

"And what sort of plan do you think they will come up with to find your secrets? Will it be a danger to us?"

"No. They attempted to enact one of their plans during PE while we were playing basketball. I'm aware they are children, but I had been expecting a more intelligent plan. It will be fine."

"I see, I suppose I can leave that to you then…"

Tatsuya frowned as he listened to his aunt speak. She was one of the few people he usually had a hard time reading, her emotions rarely swaying from sadistic amusement. When they spoke over the phone, it became increasingly difficult for him to get a read on her, even with all his experience.

"May I assume the man has been taken care of?"

"You may. And I must say I am very proud of you, I was not expecting you to have enough self- control to not murder him in front of those two boys; even our mental magic would have had trouble erasing that. But there is no need for you to worry, he will not be a problem for you anymore."

"I see. And has Miyuki been told about the situation?"

"Hmm. Well, what do you think?"

Tatsuya frowned, well-aware his silence told Maya everything she wanted to know. He did not approve of Miyuki being kept in the dark about the attempts on her life, even if it allowed her to maintain her illusion of safety. It was one thing to not tell her about a stupid scuffle or accidental fight, but a direct kidnapping attempt on the kids at her school could be dangerous for her to be kept ignorant of.

Even if the perpetrator was already dead.

"...I see," Tatsuya finally said, acknowledging his silence had gone on for too long. "Is there anything else you need Maya-sama? I really should be getting back to Miyuki-"

"Oh, even watching her with elemental sight while you're less than a mile away is too dangerous for you? What a good bodyguard you are, I'm almost jealous of my dear niece."

Tatsuya made no comment, but clenched his fist slightly as he heard Maya laugh. Suppressed emotions or not, even the most powerful mental magic they had could not stop every reaction- something Maya took gleeful advantage of.

"Yes, I suppose that was all I wanted. I'll see the two of you soon."

"Of course," he calmly responded, but only allowed the tension to leave his body when he heard the liberating sound of the call ending. Now alone, Tatsuya was able to separate some of his focus and check on the state of the patients. They appeared to have woken up, and were talking to the nurse.

Tatsuya felt a spark of amusement when he noticed the whispered word Uryu breathed out, accurately guessing what the boy had just assumed. He only stopped watching them as the door opened, allowing the woman who worked as the school's nurse to enter the room and stand across from him.

"Tatsuya-sama," she schooled her expression, giving a slight bow. "There are no concerns, I have jumbled their memories enough that they do not remember the magic you used, though I expect them to be highly suspicious of you from now on. He appears to not completely trust me, but I feel as if any other reaction on my part would have been illogical."

"No concerns, he is suspicious of everyone. He would have thought the same of any normal school nurse- he just happens to be right in this case."

She nodded and bowed again, leaving the room. Tatsuya barely held back a sigh.

Maya's only emotions when around him were amusement (which she showed to everyone) and understanding (which, while it made sense, also made Tatsuya extremely uncomfortable). The branch families gave him affection (his cousins), or cold, exaggerated indifference. The bodyguards expressed their genuine fear as hate and disgust, forming a stark contrast between himself and his sister. The lowest servants, however, were the worst.

Unlike the guardians and higher servants, they knew for a fact there was nothing they could do against him. Every interaction was filled with their poorly-veiled terror at his presence and usually more-hidden hate at him for causing that fear. For all that they tried to avoid his rage by expressing it as formality and respect, it was after talking to one of them that Tatsuya always felt closest to his aunt.

And that scared him.

* * *

Uryu walked through the halls of the school, having finally been let out of the nurse's office. His sister was in a room at the opposite end of the hallway, but Uryu had no hope she would believe him.

His sister? Believe him when he explained how Tatsuya tried to kidnap Yuusuke and him? Naive.

But Uryu would find a way. He would prove who Tatsuya was to the world. He would get proof that none of the adults could ignore, that none could pretend they did not believe.

He confidently walked, but looked up as he heard the soft patter of footsteps come his way. Stopping abruptly, Uryu felt his cheeks heat up into a blushing mess as he realized Miyuki Shiba was coming his way…

With Tatsuya.

Clenching his fists, Uryu refused to look away from Tatsuya. He would declare him and his friends at war with Tatsuya. (Then maybe Miyuki would be amazed by him for standing up to her brother).

Yes, their battle would begin with his declaration of-

As soon as he made eye contact with Tatsuya's deep blue eyes the words died in his throat. They were not intimidating, but accompanying them were the still-too-fresh memories of the fear that he felt whenever Tatsuya wanted him to. Their soft glow in the darkness imitating a predator watching its prey.

"Goodbye, Uryu," Miyuki called out to him, giving a slight bow as she passed.

"Uh-yes! Thank you! Goodbye…" he turned his attention back to Tatsuya, who regarded him with a cold look.

"I won't forget," Uryu whispered as Tatsuya passed. Pausing, the brother turned toward him and glanced back with all the cold indifference of a soldier.

"Goodbye, Uryu Hattori."

"...Right, bye."

Despite this exchange, there is a lot Uryu does not say. He doesn't say how he knows the truth about Tatsuya. Doesn't say how Tatsuya reveals it in every silent step he takes. Doesn't say how he _knows_ Tatsuya could have killed him, and doesn't ask what a monster like Tatsuya is doing at their school in the first place.

For all that he doesn't say any of that, he engranes the words deep into his heart.

Tatsuya, meanwhile, holds back a sigh at the boy's all-too transparent feelings and immaturity.


	2. Chapter 2

The dark night was only illuminated by meager slivers of light from the moon, allowing a certain boy all the cover he needed to attempt his mission. In a civilian living room, a single sword sat laid next to a kitchen door, seemingly undefended.

The boy's hand reacted out to grab it.

He froze, suddenly startled by the appearance of light behind him. Turning around, he immediately realized he had fallen for a trap and hurriedly stood up, racking his mind for an escape plan. If he was killed, the least he could do was to leave a dying message for his allies to discover when they found his body.

The object's guardian stepped into the dark room, the light behind her creating a long, intimidating shadow. The boy leaned down, prepared to run or fight for his life if need be.

The guardian rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Uryu? What are you doing up so late?"

 _Shoot_! He had been recognized! Had the covers of his other teammates also been revealed? If so, he might have to take care of the guard and allow the secret to die with her.

No, wait, for a secret to "die" everyone who knew it had to die. And that would include his allies.

Whatever.

A tense silence spawned between the girl and her brother as the girl rubbed her eyes a few more times and seemed to fully wake up. She glanced down at Uryu, then allowed her eyes to follow his still-outstretched hand to the sword she was charged with guarding from him.

The boy glared as his sister raised a single, disbelieving eyebrow at him.

"You woke me up for _this_? I thought I already told you I wasn't going to let you mess around with my sword!"

So, the guard was trying to reason with him, was she? Make him back away so that she could attack without worrying about destroying what she was guarding? Well, such a simple tactic would never work on someone of his calibre. It was naive of her to even try.

"I'm afraid that, as you have decided to remain uncooperative, we were forced to take drastic measures."

"I'm pretty sure you don't know what half the words you just said mean."

The boy remained silent, not gracing the woman with a reply.

(It was hard to argue against someone who was usually right).

The girl sighed and rubbed her temples, the exhaustion taking over once again. "I told you, I'm not going to let you practice kendo if you want to use it to get into a fight with a nice boy like Tatsuya. Kendo is a martial art-"

"-Meant to help refine technique," Uryu finished, having memorized the sentence from the countless times he had asked her to teach him to fight. "But you don't have to teach me! I'll figure it out on my own! It won't even really be kendo then, I'll have created a fighting style that I can use however I want!"

"...To kill people."

"Yea- no, wait. I mean no, just for self defense."

"Mmhm."

The boy glared.

His sister just continued raising her eyebrow in return.

"Do you even know the first step to making a new martial art? It's not as easy as it sounds in TV. Like really, the men who created Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu had to spend years getting into countless fights to refine the technique…. And you want to make one while still in school."

"Sora did it!"

"Uryu. He's. A. _Fictional. Character_." The girl looked like she was about to say more, but tapped her watch to pull up a holographic clock and practically collapsed against the wall when she saw the time.

"Are you oka-"

"Look. Uryu… okay, it's way too late- early, for this. I am not teaching you how to fight using a sword. Pretty much any self defense martial art you try will tell you that the situation you're describing wasn't one where you needed to worry about defending yourself. Besides, if you really want to learn I heard you're going to do a little in PE since you're in sixth grade now. Who knows, maybe the teacher will be able to get you to learn some control."

Uryu had zone her out about half-way through when it became obvious she had not been expecting a reply. The last mumbled sentence, however, had caught his attention; he had forgotten about the fighting unit in PE.

If there was any time that Uryu's squad could learn more about how dangerous Tatsuya was, it would be while fighting. Some older boys from a nearby middle school's club would come to help the adult instructors, and Uryu was sure he could find some way to bribe them to fight Tatsuya.

And, to top it all off, he would learn to defend himself. The PE teachers said they would start that unit that coming monday, so it would be perfect timing. Uryu could already picture himself standing above everyone, smirking at his victory.

"...Why are you smiling like that?"

Oh. It seemed like he did not have to imagine it.

Turning away from his concerned sister, Uryu made a mental plan. He would need to call everyone, need to get them to plan their assault. See if any of them had any way to realistically bribe the older students.

A yawn interrupted his thoughts and he hazily rubbed his eyes.

Well, maybe he would try to call them in the morning. For now, his highest priority was sleep.

He had failed in his mission, but had gained some small glimmer of hope all the same. That was good; when facing a monster you needed all the hope you could get.

* * *

The dark night was only illuminated by the meager slivers of light from the moon, allowing a certain boy all the cover he needed to attempt his mission. The boy stepped into the house, unnaturally silent.

None of the sleeping inhabitants noticed him as he walked through the shadows, even when he stood right next to the bed of their leader. The guards surrounding the room had been slipped past with ease, never even realizing they had failed in their mission.

All par for the course as usual, it seemed.

The boy stood directly in front of the master's bed, glancing down at him in mild disdain. The man was extremely successful, having made nearly a million in legal and not-so-legal business transactions. Unfortunately, he had not kept a careful eye on his magician son who had not wanted to join the military, allowing the boy to attempt an attack on the school _everyone_ on the wrong side of the law knew was protected by the Yotsuba.

The Queen of the night was not known to be merciful to any who cross her. The man would pay dearly for his arrogance.

The boy lifted his hand over the man, concentrating. He had gotten better at using the innate magic he had been born with, but even he had trouble with such a delicate process.

"Don't leave any outside evidence," she had said. Decomposition left the boy with no talent in mental magic, but he was still capable of emulating the effects when he wanted to.

He raised his hand over the man, allowing his innate magic to take over. Then slowly, carefully, he pushed his power through the skin and hair and skull to begin decomposing the brain.

It would certainly be discovered that someone had removed his brain eventually, but at first he would appear to be merely asleep. If Tatsuya could do this right, destroying specific parts of the man's brain first, he would never wake up.

How many people could be granted the honor of dying, peacefully, in their sleep?

For a while Tatsuya had wondered about the unusual mercy Maya was showing the men, but seeing the man in person made one thing clear. As a self-defense mechanism, the man had bought the services of an ancient magician. If his panic rose beyond a certain level, his body would explode into flames.

Interesting, Tatsuya had never seen anything like it before. It would probably be best to just do as ordered; trying to play or decompose a sequence he did not understand could backfire immensely.

Tatsuya opened his eyes, but felt a flash of irritation when he saw his work. He had destroyed the brain, yes, but there was a patch of the man's head where he had decomposed skin and hair.

If his control was this unreliable, how could he be confident in Miyuki's safety at all times?

He frowned for a moment, promising himself he would increase his control.

Shaking his head and ignoring the unrelated thoughts, Tatsuya took a small step forward to check for the man's heartbeat.

Gone.

Perfect.

And, as it seemed he had managed to avoid setting off the ancient magic, it was time for him to move to the next stage in the plan: destroying the rest of the family.

Maya had "asked" him to try to use as little magic as possible for this. Apparently, they were at a skill level which she believed would make them good sparring partners for him. While slightly suspicious, Tatsuya was grateful for such an easy opportunity to train in hand - to - hand combat.

It was getting harder and harder for him to read the line between playful manipulation and genuine affection when it came to his aunt. Hopefully he would figure it out when he got older.

Stepping outside of the room with equal noise to when he entered, Tatsuya found himself standing side by side with one of the room's impressive guards.

At least, impressive enough to realize Tatsuya was standing next to him, even if it took a second for him to notice. The guard flinched slightly in surprise, jumping away and blowing the whistle for the alarm. Soon Tatsuya was surrounded by a dozen armed and trained men, all watching him in confusion.

"A kid…?" one of the guards whispered, causing the original guard to grow increasingly confused.

Tatsuya simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for the fight to start.

Luckily, he did not have to wait long, as one of the more aggressive guards quickly lost patience with the staring contest and walked over to Tatsuya. He walked with annoyance and authority, and added anger to that list when all Tatsuya did was calmly glance up at him, no concern in sight.

"Look, kid, you aren't supposed to be here. How did you get in?"

Tatsuya tilted his head to the side, indicating at the large gate which had been surrounded by guards. He glanced up at the man, whose anger seemed to be only multiplying as Tatsuya continued to stare at him.

He gave the man a quick glance over, realizing he recognized the man from a report he had read. A drug seller's bodyguard who had been caught, but escaped from prison. He was not of much interest to the Yotsuba family, but he _was_ known to have unusually high combat abilities, even for a magician.

That also meant the family would not need to pull any strings in the police if the man was killed. A quick look-over of the surrounding men proved they all shared that convenience.

Finally reaching its peak, the man's anger prompted the guard to reach forward to drag Tatsuya out of the estate. For a moment, Tatsuya calmly regarded the hand reaching towards him.

Barely a second passed before he had broken it.

 ** _"Aaah!"_**

"Wha-"

Tatsuya did not allow the guard to finish his question, delivering a powerful head kick which sent the man's helmet flying. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

A guard stepped back in shock, "Hey, this kid is-"

Tatsuya broke his nose.

A man pulled out a knife.

Tatsuya slammed his head into the wall to knock him out.

Soon, every guard was attacking him. Gunshots sailed through the air; unconscious bodies collapsed on the ground. Tatsuya's martial arts training was far from complete, but he was more than powerful enough to take care of everyone present.

" _Retreat_! We need hel-"

Tatsuya swept his legs out - his yell stopped -an annoyance - he crushed the man's windpipe. A sound- where- from behind - another man- Tatsuya kicked - the man was unconscious before he hit the ground.

More men attacked. More were taken down. Tatsuya dodged each attempt and, one by one, removed the men from combat. He was the fastest person present, so he was able to arrange the fight into one on one battles, ensuring his victory.

Shortly after Tatsuya had broken the leg of a woman who had shot at him, a scream came from inside the house. It was soon followed by one of the guards leaving the room and yelling to the still-living and conscious guards at the top of his lungs.

"The master's _dead_!"

It seemed they had finally realized how futile their resistance was and tried to get the master to retreat. If nothing else, it was nice to have confirmation that he had succeeded.

A man using body strengthening magic was suddenly behind Tatsuya- attacking in a fit of rage. Tatsuya grabbed the arm coming toward him and used it to flip the man over his shoulder at a terrifying speed. The man's subsequent death due to Tatsuya breaking his back was painful, but mercifully swift.

Five left.

Tatsuya knocked another out.

Four.

He broke the woman's ribs.

Three.

Friendly fire burned him black.

Two.

The caster was shocked long enough for Tatsuya to break his legs.

One.

The man collapsed on his knees to the floor, staring at nothing but the bodies one kid had been able to generate without even using magic. He looked up in fear as Tatsuya stepped closer, but made no move to retreat.

If the gods sent a demon to end your life, it was pointless to struggle.

He never even felt Tatsuya crushing his head into the ground, losing consciousness in an instant.

Zero.

Corpses littered the floor to the point where Tatsuya had trouble walking in a straight line, but the Yotsuba would take care fo that. The biggest problem was all of the concussions Tatsuya had given. While he thought he had hit them hard enough for them to retain permanent damage, there was no way of being sure until they were all awake.

The Yotsuba did not have that kind of time.

Soon, everyone in the house was dead, and Tatsuya was surveying the area with elemental sight to confirm. He wondered, briefly, how Miyuki would feel about him doing this.

Then he remembered the man's deceptive smile as he stood outside of her school, and that guilt vanished instantly.

* * *

The next morning, two boys in the sixth grade class had gotten only two hours of sleep, having been busy with personal projects in the middle of the night.

As usual, only one of them showed it.

Uryu rubbed his eyes tiredly, trying to fight down his sixth yawn that morning. The teacher tended to get a bit annoyed if they yawned too much, and ever since she believed Tatsuya's lie about what happened during recess he had lost all trust in her. She would never take his side against the monster.

Bored with whatever the teacher was lecturing them about, Uryu decided to instead devote his attention to his mission. Operation 'watch Tatsuya during class' begin!

The longer Uryu watched Tatsuya, the more convinced he was that the other boy was not human. Honestly, it was obvious, why had the adults never noticed before? No human sixth grader would take _notes_ during school, he had to be a monster.

In the time since waking up after Tatsuya's failed kidnapping attempt, Uryu and Yuusuke had become the captain and co-captain of the committee. It took a lot of work, but they managed to keep up the enthusiasm of everyone on the team and did most of the planning for their missions.

Yuusuke's current running theory was that Tatsuya was an android designed to be a weapon by some secret government organization. He used the note taking and intelligence as proof, but Uryu thought that was stupid.

Tatsuya was obviously alive, Uryu knew that from the countless times they had collided while playing sports in PE. And, because he was alive, it was clear that he was a monster since birth. The two of them never reached an agreement in their debates on the topic ( _debates_ , not "screaming competitions" like his sister claimed), but Uryu was sure he would be able to get Yuusuke to see the truth eventually.

The main question he was trying to discover now was why a monster would be attending their school.

Unfortunately, watching him in class did not seem to be bringing Uryu any closer to finding the answer. Still lost in his thoughts, Uryu barely noticed the bell had rung, only packing up when Tatsuya began organizing things into his bag.

Running through his mental schedule, Uryu woke up slightly when he realized what class was next, PE. He and Yuusuke had pulled some strings (bribed older students with candy), and learned who would be helping out with the PE class. Once they knew that, it was not hard to find a way to meet up with the older boys before the class started.

It turned out the one of them was a friend of a friend of Yuusuke's, so he had been on their side immediately. They claimed they would not actually _fight_ Tatsuya, but they did not see any problem with scaring him, especially after they heard the sheer level of terror Tatsuya had instilled in them.

He would have to wait until after school for that, but Uryu felt like he could wait. Without patience, even the most talented of men would not accomplish anything of importance.

Uryu struggled to continue repeating the motivational quote he found on his sister's calendar when he realized how long the teacher was dragging the class out. Because it was the first day they were doing their self defense unit, the teacher was required to go through a long presentation on what was and was not allowed. Boys could not pair up with girls, when you are told to stop you need to stop, only do what is asked, respect the older students coming to help, excetera, excetera.

By the time the presentation was over, Uryu had gone from repeating the calendar quote to vaguely repeating one or two words before the rest got jumbled together. Looking around at his friends, it became clear he was far from the only one to have nearly fallen asleep. In _PE_!

The only students who still looked as alert as ever were Tatsuya - who could probably watch paint dry for hours and still look as wide awake -, and Miyuki - the literal goddess of their class. But even Miyuki's radiant glow was starting to dim, and if that was not a clue the presentation had lasted too long Uryu did not know what was.

Then- finally -the teachers seemed to realize that 99% of students had stopped listening to them and wrapped up the older students' explanations. At this point Uryu had practically fallen asleep, but the act of helping to pull out mats was just physical enough for him to start to wake up.

Uryu was far from the only one to have a gleeful smile on their face when they saw what the gym looked like. Just the addition of mats made the gym look much more exciting, and many of the boys began bouncing on their toes as they waited to start. Taking off their shoes as instructed, the students in the class paired up with someone their age and gender to practice.

Not wanting to give away his true power too quickly to the enemy, Uryu moved to pair up with one of his friends of the Tatsuya committee. As instructed, the pair lined up and practiced falling like the teacher had instructed them to. It seemed a bit silly to Uryu to teach someone how to _fall_ , but if it got them to the fighting part he could tolerate it.

Then, _finally_ , it was time to try a drill. They began to follow the gym teacher's instructions, but found the throw would not work for them. The two boys switched back and forth between attempts, but even the advice of an older student- "Stop trying to lift him up! Use the technique to move him!" - did not help them.

Luckily, they were far from the only ones struggling. The girls were calm, but barely seemed to be trying (and Uryu knew they could be downright _terrifying_ when it was volleyball), and most of the boys could not seem to get it. Well, luckily for the committee, that probably also meant Tatsuya-

A loud **s** _m_ **a** _ **c** k_ echoed through the gym. Looking over, Uryu realized Tatsuya had just thrown his partner flawlessly. A sudden wave of jealousy erupted through Uryu, and he could not help himself from glaring at the boy.

Why did Tatsuya _always_ have to be so damn perfect? Uryu knew he was not human, but he did not have to show everyone up all the time! The only reason he got the move was probably because he already knew how to do it, but all the teachers were congratulating Tatsuya as if he was a prodigy for doing something he already knew how to do.

Uryu wanted to curse at the unfairness of it all.

He took a deep breath, determination blazing through his body. Fine, then; he could wait. He would wait until he got all the moves at the class before confronting Tatsuya. And then they would be on equal footing once more.

Uryu glanced over and found Yuusuke in the crowd of students and the two of them made eye contact. Uryu could see a similar wave of humiliation and resolve coursing through the other boy, and knew the two of them were having the same thoughts. Yes, this was just a minor setback, they would take him down soon enough.

* * *

Every week, Uryu and his classmates would have PE. Every week, Tatsuya would get the move right away until he became like one of the older students helping the beginners out. And every week, Uryu would have trouble with the self - defense moves taught in class that day.

Oh, he would get them eventually, but they would just barely work and probably could not be used for anything important. The plan had been to wait for the committee members to get trained before confronting Tatsuya, but that seemed less and less likely to happen as time went on.

Uryu scowled into his TV and once again wished his middle school had a martial arts club. Uryu did not have time to start one himself, but it would have all be so much easier if there was one already in place.

Sighing, Uryu further collapsed onto the couch, becoming a boneless bag of jelly as he continued to think. He had had the same thought process about twenty times before and it was getting monotonous. There were no new ideas he could think of, and no solutions he had in mind.

"I'm back!"

Uryu barely glanced up when he heard his sister enter the house, carrying the groceries she would be making them dinner with. A small glance up seemed like an impossible endeavor for Uryu, so he mumbled and acknowledgment but otherwise remained collapsed.

Several seconds passed before his sister entered the room, her face quickly setting into an annoyed scowl. Setting the bags down in the kitchen, she quickly returned and spent several impatient moments glaring at her brother.

He ignored her out of a idealistic hope she would get bored and leave.

She did not.

"Turn off the TV."

The screen Uryu had been blankly staring at recieved the command and abruptly became pitch black, finally causing Uryu to look over at her. The tremendous effort that took him only served to worsen his mood, causing him to let out a slight growl.

"What was that for?"

"Aren't you going to at least look up at me when I come home? I'm not your hired help, you know."

"I've been busy!"

"Mmhm. Doing what?"

"Thinking!" Uryu immediately responded, beyond frustrated by her lack of understanding. If she would just realize the _danger_ Tatsuya posed, he was sure she would be all for letting him think of a solution.

Instead, however, his sister just sighed and rubbed her temples. When she looked up again Uryu could see her forcibly calm herself down (probably reminding herself not to hit him) and run a hand through her hair. It seemed that, like always, she had failed to understand the most important things in Uryu's life.

"Look, Uryu, you can't just… Nevermind. I've got club tomorrow, so I'm going to have to leave you home alone again. Is that okay with you?" Slightly surprised by the sudden change in topic, Uryu took a moment before her words really registered, but blinked up at her in surprise once they did.

"Are you doing kendo?"

"Yeah. So? Think you can be home alon-"

"Can I come too?"

His sister blinked up at him, startled by his sudden excitement. Uryu was now sitting up straight, looking directly into her eyes with the kind of pleading, puppy-dog expression which always made their parents fall for him.

"...Why…?"

"Please, I just- I don't- I want to... see you…?" Uryu finished hesitantly. He could see his sister fight with herself for a moment, but eventually sighed and nodded.

"I… fine, whatever. Why don't you come into the kitchen and… I'll start making dinner."

Uryu quickly complied with his sister's request, new plans instantly forming in his mind. Just a handful of older students might be equal to Tatsuya, but if he also had some people from the kendo team…

Even someone really good at fighting had trouble against people with weapons. If they were trained people who knew how to use their weapon, then it would take that much more for Tatsuya to defeat them.

You know, if the whole 'just going to intimidate' thing did not work out.

As he stepped into the kitchen, countless plans began to perfectly align in his mind.

* * *

"Hey, Mion!" The kendo club president greeted Uryu's sister, before glancing down at Uryu. "And who's this?"

Uryu's sister cast a slightly embarrassed glance down at her brother, giving a half shrug and responding, "My little brother. I'll try to keep him from being a distraction, but my parents are out of town and he didn't want to be home alone. Sorry."

The club president frowned and glanced at Uryu. The latter instantly realized he was about to be rejected, and his mind scrambled for some sort of reason to stay.

"Well, about that-"

"We don't mind, he's more than welcome to watch," a girl Uryu knew as the club president's older sister said with a smile. "There's no problem with him being here. We're happy to have him."

The club president bit back whatever he had been about to say, but made no move to agree with his sister. As the awkward silence stretched on, the president's sister's smile sharpened and she cast a terrifying glance back at the captain.

"We don't mind. Right, _captain_?"

The president could not resist a small squeak as he hurried to refuse, but Uryu was now ignoring him. He now far more important things to worry about than the club captain.

His current mission: find all the people in the club who he could convince to help him out.

Their training began, so his sister moved him to the side and sat him down. He complied without a struggle, content to sit and watch the older students for the time being.

(Though if the look his sister gave him was any indication, he had followed her request suspiciously easily).

(Whatever, he had more important things to worry about).

The practice started off simple enough, but Uryu found himself using the time to watch the high schoolers for their abilities. The entire group practiced swinging while the captain walked around to give advice, but even Uryu could easily see that some were far better than others. Unlike the students with unsteady grips and slouching stances, these students might be useful. They were calm, controlled, and each swing they practiced would flawlessly rip the air apart in front of them.

And yet, Uryu found himself disappointed.

He was not an expert, of course, but they all seemed to be somehow lacking. Their gazes were sharp, but lacked the intensity Tatsuya's had even when he was resting. Their stances appeared solid, but were nothing in comparison to how Tatsuya looked when he was doing martial arts in PE. Their movements were fast, but, somehow, Uryu could not imagine them being fast enough to get Tatsuya.

As if he needed any more proof that Tatsuya did not belong with the rest of them.

Finally it was time to practice sparring, and Uryu found himself leaning forward slightly in anticipation. Half the club sat by the walls and stretched, while the other half got partners and lifted their wooden bokkens in preparation. Uryu's sister was one of the students with a partner, but Uryu knew he would never be able to convince her to help him.

Instead, Uryu focused on the students who had fit the criteria he was looking for: being reasonably intimidating, and naively trusting. It was a bit hard to tell whether the second one was true just from watching the fighting, but Uryu thought he was doing a pretty good job with what he had.

There were two girls and five boys (including the club president), and Uryu's sight locked on them until the sparring was over. Their personalities seemed to vary from obnoxiously bubbly to unbelievably straightforward and simple-minded, and Uryu's plan to gain their loyalty began to construct itself in his mind.

While his sister went to pick up more water bottles for the other student, Uryu went and cornered his chosen targets. As he had expected, it was fairly easy to convince them of what he wanted them to believe; that he was just a victim, the younger brother of one of their classmates, and was being picked on by a boy at his school. And _obviously_ he did not want his sister to know, that would be too embarrassing. Maybe, if they had time, they could try to help.

Uryu immediately agreed that it would be wrong for them to hurt a middle schooler, but they also did not seem to have any problems with intimidation, especially because many of them were friends with his sister. Uryu barely withheld his smirk; this was exactly what he needed.

And he was not _lying_. Not really. Tatsuya had started everything when he proved how dangerous he was at break. Uryu trying to attack Tatsuya was fine, he had already proven how dangerous he was. It did not really matter what Uryu had to do to make it happen, getting rid of Tatsuya was for the greater good.

And if no one else knew about this, then it fell to Uryu to be the hero of the story.

* * *

As the sixth grade class walked to the gym, Uryu kept a careful eye on Tatsuya. It would be a few more days before they confronted him, but Uryu wanted to get as much information as possible.

He paid careful attention to Tatsuya's movement, his focus, his confidence, his technique. As Tatsuya instructed his partner on how to throw him, Uryu relaxed his watch slightly, but as soon as Tatsuya offered to demonstrate the throw he was back to careful observation. When Tatsuya planted his foot between his partners legs, Uryu found himself unconsciously copying. When Tatsuya turned his shoulders, Uryu glared until the picture was frozen into his mind. When Tatsuya hooked his leg up, Uryu memorized the exact path it had moved through. When Tatsuya pulled and pushed with his arms, Uryu's complete focus on it caused his body to copy the movement agan.

 **BAM**

"Good job, Uryu. I think that was your best first try yet," the PE teacher praised, and Uryu took a moment to blink out of the dazed state he had been in. He had barely noticed he was moving.

Excitement filled through his body.

Yes, Tatsuya was terrifying and such, but maybe it was not all bad. He could still have uses, if Uryu knew how to approach him. He could do almost anything if he-

No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, _no_. Uryu was a human, it would be wrong of him to cooperate with something like Tatsuya. He had a duty to the human race to continue to fight against the monster; Tatsuya had to be put down.

"What's wrong, Uryu?" he heard his partner ask, immediately realizing his expression must have shown a bit more than he wanted it to. He shook away his thoughts and gave the other boy a smile.

"Nothing, I'm good."

After a moment's hesitation, his partner gave a tentative nod and stood up, allowing them to continue their practice. The return of normalcy also caused Tatsuya to calm down and relax, glad he would not have to keep worrying about being watched.

* * *

Tatsuya sat in class, dividing his attention between taking notes on what the teacher was saying and pretending to ignore Uryu. The boy had spent a good part of the lesson (and the last few lessons, come to think of it) glaring at him, a beginner's bloodlust radiating off him in waves. Unfortunately, Uryu was far from subtle about it, and even a not- Tatsuya person would probably notice.

These thoughts made it clear to Tatsuya that his attempt at ignoring Uryu was failing miserably. He shook his head of his thoughts and tried to refocus on the lesson in front of him.

"...these new laws gave magicians more equal rights after the war, but their fight for equality was far from over. What I want you all to do now is to turn on your computers and watch a video on the debate you can find at this link."

The class immediately powered up their technology and watched as the holographic screen floated above their desks. The link took them to a video on the Japanese government from about twenty years ago debating over the rights of magicians in a conference. It immediately became clear to Tatsuya that the video would be showing the magicians as poor, innocent people who did not deserve what the evil government was trying to do to them.

He knew his teacher was a fan of magicians, but this specific debate was a relatively famous example of the opposition appearing inhumane in hindsight. Tatsuya made a mental note to recommend to Maya that she show Miyuki a more even debate to keep her from getting the wrong impression.

With that in mind, Tatsuya pulled out a paper for notes and motioned for the video to start.

* * *

When the debate first started, Uryu had been focused exclusively on glaring at Tatsuya. The whole startup stuff and early introductions by the reporters were pretty boring and useless in the real world. But, the more he heard, the more he realized how relevant the topic was to _his_ real world.

"...We cannot simply allow _weapons_ to go around in normal cities and live with normal people. Any magician is easily capable of causing destruction and committing mass murder!"

"That is no reason to disrespect the rights they have as people. I will not deny that they are human weapons, but it is wrong for you to look exclusively at the 'weapon' part and not the 'human'."

"Will you be able to continue saying that as we continue getting reports on how many people have been killed in magic- related crime or as a casualty of magicians in war?"

"Because they are being oppressed! It has been shown throughout history that those who are oppressed will stand up against that oppression and rebel. If they are simply treated as human, we can get more of them in the police and work to fight back against the ones using their power for violence. Do you have a way to stop this violence _without_ allying with the magicians?"

"Of course; they should be treated like the weapons they unquestionably are and locked away. Or, better yet, eliminated from this world so that we do not have to fear them!"

"How can you say that knowing there are families of magicians watching this, terrified of what their fate might be?"

"The same way you can say what you have knowing there are even more families which have had someone they loved killed by a magician in the past year."

Uryu suddenly remembered that the man arguing for human control over magicians- older, balding gray hair and an impossibly thin body- had been at one of the first battles in which magicians were used. He relaxed and stared at the screen in awe.

That man _understood_! His sister and friends and the nurse and everyone always said Tatsuya was a good kid, but this man understood the truth. He had also experienced what Uryu had, and knew that some people were so dangerous that they had to be put down by the government. Uryu was not alone!

Uryu could not help the small smile on his face as he continued watching, memorizing the best arguments the man -the hero- was saying. Vaguely, Uryu remembered his teacher mentioning how the man was looked down on by a good fraction of current society for his paranoia. A rush of deep, hot anger flashed through him.

So what? The only person who had the courage to tell the world the truth was just going to be looked on as crazy? How did the people around him not see the damage people with power could cause? Tatsuya was not even a magician and he was still able to take down that guy during his kidnapping attempt-

 _No, wait_. Uryu sat frozen at his seat, eyes wide but un-seeing, too lost in his own thoughts.

What if Tatsuya _was_ a magician? That would explain how he was so powerful. It would be possible for an elementary schooler to take down an adult if they had magic. It might also explain the weird, terrifying glow Tatsuya's eyes would take on when he was angry. And, as Uryu tuned back into the video and listened to more of what the old man was saying, magicians sounded exactly like Tatsuya.

In a quick flash, the image of Tatsuya's cold, empty, emotionless gaze staring down at him flashed through his mind. Uryu still did not know what happened between the time he saw that look and when he woke up at the nurse's office, but, if Tatsuya was a magician, it could have been anything.

The more Uryu heard, the more the pieces seemed to come together. Of course Tatsuya was a magician- it seemed so obvious in hindsight. When they were almost kidnapped, Uryu and Yuusuke both saw Tatsuya holding a thin box.

A CAD, Uryu now realized, and he turned to look at Tatsuya again.

That was how he was so dangerous. When he got home, Uryu would have to read about the destruction caused by some magicians to get a better idea of what he was up against. Telling Yuusuke would be a good idea too; no one else would probably believe him without proof.

Only the three people who had experienced it first hand would understand.

The holographic video in front of him disappeared as the debate ended, but Uryu felt he had gotten far more out of that than anyone else in the class.

Uryu had heard that most magicians only start really training when they get to the special high schools, but Tatsuya was probably just an exception. For all he knew, Tatsuya had been born in a dangerous family of assassin magicians and was raised to be a weapon or the next leader from birth.

...No, that sounded crazy even to Uryu.

With practiced expressions, Uryu pretended to listen to what the teacher was saying while simultaneously staring at the clock behind them, watching each second bring him closer and closer to freedom.

10.

Uryu wondered if he should also tell the martial artists his theory on Tatsuya's status as a magician.

7.

No, he had no proof and that would just intimidate them. No reason to get them to back off when he had not used them for what he wanted to yet. It was better to just keep them in the dark about it.

4.

A sudden, naively hopeful idea popped into Uryu's brain. Himself, standing happily in victory over Tatsuya, without having even needed the older student to help.

3.

He forcefully crushed the thought as soon as it appeared. The goal was not his personal victory, it was removing a threat to the safety of every human. Tatsuya was dangerous, so his best bet was to get numbers against the magician. If he got enough people then - magician or not - Tatsuya would eventually have to fall.

Uryu just needed to figure out how many people were Tatsuya's limit.

1.

Class was over.

During the passing period on their way to their next class, Uryu subtly pulled Yuusuke aside and explained what he had discovered. The look of total acceptance and agreement on the boy's face was more than enough for Uryu's confidence to soar. They agreed to hook up a video chat and watch magician videos together.

A burning determination flooded Uryu as the two boys walked to class together. They were reaching the end of the martial arts unit, so they would need to move quickly if they wanted to catch Tatsuya.

Yuusuke decided they would attack the next day.

Uryu had smirked. The best defense was a good offense.

* * *

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

Tatsuya cautiously looked up and met the amused gaze of his aunt. He bowed deeply and waited to be addressed.

Behind him, the guards standing at the door of Maya's room were barely restraining themselves from glaring or even attacking him. Maya seemed content with ignoring them though, so Tatsuya decided to as well.

Maya smiled as if she could see all the thoughts running through Tatsuya's mind, regardless of his emotionless expression - at this point he would not be surprised - and gestured to her guards.

"Close the door."

Obviously unhappy, but loyal to a fault, the magicians closed the door, leaving Tatsuya and Maya alone together. The dark room was lit with a handful of white lights, reminding Tatsuya uncomfortably of his Aunt's night.

"It's so rare for you to be the one to cause our meetings. Has something concerned you about Miyuki?"

"Yes," Tatsuya finally raised his head, refusing to speak without looking her in the eyes. "During school today we were given a chance to watch a video of one of the old magician rights debates, but I feel that it was too one-sided in favor of the magicians. I request an opportunity to give Miyuki a more balanced understanding of both sides."

"Ah, yes. We wouldn't want a member of the Yotsuba to be ignorant, now would we?"

Only Tatsuya's emotional block kept him from asking Maya why she would then keep Miyuki ignorant of so many other things. Once again, however, it seemed Maya picked up on his comment without him moving a muscle.

"Don't worry, my dear nephew. I'll get someone to show her the Akihabara debate for you."

And Tatsuya had no doubt she would. For all that she despised her sister and terrified a vast majority of the underworld, she did, somewhat, care about her him. Whenever they talked, in between her carefully hidden threats on Miyuki to ensure Tatsuya's loyalty, she would do everything she could to make Tatsuya as strong as he could be. In fact, she seemed to care more about him than every other Yotsuba.

Tatsuya had long since acknowledged that he was never going to understand his aunt; there was no point in thinking about it.

"And have here been any new developments with those boys at your school?"

The unexpected question caught Tatsuya off guard for a moment, but he recovered before anyone could notice.

"For now they seem to be mostly planning. Their modified memories appear to have left them with a negative impression on me, but I will do everything I can to keep them from affecting Miyuki."

"I see…. And if you believe they will cause a problem?"

"I will deal with it accordingly."

"Without causing bigger problem like you did when this whole mess started?"

"Of course."

"And if the situation becomes desperate enough for you to need to remove the threat completely?"

"They will not live to see their next mornings," Tatsuya emotionlessly declared, silencing any of Maya's further questions before she had a chance to form them. She seemed genuinely surprised for a moment, but that quickly turned into dangerous levels of amusement.

"I see. I shall leave you to that then. Though don't kill them if you don't have to, it would be more annoying than I'd appreciate to have to cover up large numbers of deaths just because you couldn't think of a better solution."

Tatsuya bowed deeply again.

"I will be careful."

"Of course. Have fun."

* * *

Uryu sat, frozen, as he stared at the screen in front of him. As it turned out, searching up ' _dangerous magic_ ' would give access to more information than he had even considered searching for. There was mental magic, and stuff that changed the surroundings, and things that attacked a person's body, and then there were the Ten Master Clans.

Uryu had felt a little nervous, but mostly fine until he saw those. Magic was impressive, sure, but nothing that could not be replicated with a few bombs or manipulators or something else a normal human could do with more time. Fighting Tatsuya head-on seemed like a realistic possibility.

That thought was completely shattered when he witnessed the use of rupture.

The Ichijou family. Bearing the number 'one' for the ten master clans. Standing at the pinnacle of magic that 'directly interferes with living organisms.'

There was no way to copy _that_.

Uryu leaned back in his chair, suddenly feeling the fight leaving his body. He took deep breaths in and out, reminding himself that the chance that Tatsuya was an Ichijou was slim to none; he shared none of their physical characteristics.

But then he remembered what Tatsuya could turn into when he was annoyed. It had been a while, but Uryu could never forget Tatsuya's gaze on the court. Could never forget how the world seemed to dim and darken. Could never forget that, despite that, Tatsuya's eyes managed to glow with the power of an aimed weapon, ready to strike. Could never forget that feeling: too hot- too cold- not safe - dark - scary - don't stay - can't breathe - _leave_!

The table rattled, and Uryu glanced down. He was shaking. Quickly, Uryu took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. It would be bad for his sister to come in; she had restricted the videos he was watching from their computers. (Though, luckily, she hadn't been as careful with keeping him from the computer's passwords).

Clenching his fists, Uryu steeled himself. His sister would be coming home soon, so he should get back to his room. If he wanted to, he could bring Yuusuke along and show him the videos at the school library or something. Yes, he should probably stop.

With shaking hands, Uryu closed the videos and traveled back into his room, only making it far enough to collapse on his bed. He stared at the ceiling in calm, quiet thought.

Tatsuya… he probably would not use something like rupture on a bunch of school children. There would be no way for him to sheepishly smile and get the teachers on his side if that happened. So Uryu would be safe. Right?

Another deep breath.

There was such a large range of abilities a magician could have, that there would be no way for Uryu to know how powerful Tatsuya was unless he saw Tatsuya's magic.

And, suddenly, Uryu realized he had been so wrapped up in Tatsuya's magic he had forgotten the other boy could fight too. What if, when confronted, Tatsuya did not even bother using his magic? They would have no way of knowing how dangerous he was if he never used his power.

Uryu felt a wave of determination come over him, causing him to glare at the ceiling. If that was the case, Uryu would just have to convince Tatsuya to use his power. It was like their old cop shows; sometimes the villain had left no evidence, so it was the job of the heroes to trick the bad guy into showing it once they knew who had done the crime.

And the only time Uryu had ever seen Tatsuya completely angry had been…

When Uryu had almost hit Miyuki.

Uryu had to pause at that thought, his expression molding into a frustrated frown. Even if it was for the good of the world, it seemed wrong to put an angel like Miyuki in any danger. But if he had no other ideas, it might be the only way to… but his fellow committee members would never agree to that… but it was the only thing that would…

Oh!

Uryu smirked, allowing his body to relax onto the bed. It did not matter if Miyuki was _actually_ in danger, Uryu would just have to make Tatsuya think she was. If he overreacted to a ball being thrown near Miyuki, telling him while he was surrounded by older students that more older students were attacking Miyuki would probably… make him… kill them…

Alright, so he would need to work on the plan a little more. Maybe he would leave threatening Miyuki to another day… when the people on his side were armed with tanks and bombs. That did not really matter though, he now had a strong foundation he could attack Tatsuya from. Or at least _a_ foundation.

He would work on it.

With that thought in mind and a smirk on his lips, Uryu relaxed and pulled up his covers, suddenly feeling too tired to stay awake anymore.

* * *

It was dark. Uryu had no idea where he was, but he knew he did not like it. He knew what 'dark' looked like from the times his sister made him come to her late - night kendo practices, but this was something else entirely. There was _nothing_ around him, just a pitch black sheet enveloping the world.

From the left, lights appeared. Bright, shining, crimson lights took the form of glowing orbs speeding towards him. The first one landed on a person directly to his side who Uryu had not noticed until just then.

The man convulsed, practically sank in on himself, then exploded.

Blood flew everywhere, some splashing onto Uryu's cheek. A hand and leg were blasted out, scattering on the ground in a puddle of blood and flesh.

Uryu bit his tongue and let out a high-pitched scream.

Rupture, some small, conscious part of his brain told him. This was the power of magicians.

The lights came back, so Uryu ran. He saw a building, ran behind it, ducked for cover, turned his back on the attacks, but saw the sky light up above him. He recognized the attack the moment it made contact with the ground next to him.

Dry blizzard.

Uryu ran, had to hide, found a tree, hid behind, it was destroyed, had to run again. Move, had to move, ignore the dead bodies on the ground, ignore how they covered the path, ignore how he had to step on them to run, ignore the burning buildings and the air on fire and the brilliant, unstoppable light of magic.

That light meant death.

So Uryu ran, and ran, and hid, and cried, and watched as the innocent people around him were turned inside out by the power of the weapons, of the magicians.

Uryu hid under a bridge, shut his eyes- felt a warm hand- a big hand, an adult? - safe? - opened his eyes - a corpse. He ran again. A storm of dry ice was thrown towards him, but the screams of the people around him blocked out all other sound.

Run- keep running - weak - just hide- wait- let the monsters leave. Uryu ran towards a beach that appeared to his right, and saw another kid already there.

"Run!" he yelled to the boy, "Magicians are here! We need to run!"

The boy glanced over, and even the darkness from before felt bright compared to the heart - stopping glare the boy gave him. The battle behind them was drowned out, blurry, but Uryu could clearly see each step closer the boy took toward him.

Ten feet between them. Then seven. Five. Four. Three. The boy's eyes glowed a piercing blue in the night, outshining even the magic being cast behind him. Two feet left. One. The boy abruptly grabbed Uryu's left arm with his right hand.

At his touch, Uryu's body cracked, then started to crumble into dust. There was no pain, but suddenly Uryu could no longer feel his left arm, then his stomach, then his right arm, his right leg, and then, suddenly, he could not hear his heart beating.

"Tatsuya-"

But Tatsuya just smiled, a cruel frozen smile, as Uryu was turned into dust before the power of magic.

With a gasp, Uryu woke up.

* * *

His chest was heaving, and Uryu could feel his blankets were covered in sweat.

He was staring up at his ceiling, blankly gazing for several seconds as his body shook in terrified breaths. Eventually he glanced over at the clock by his bed and saw the time. 2:30 AM.

Slowly sitting up - still trembling- Uryu slipped out of bed and began walking down the hall. The dim lights did nothing to calm his fears, and each creak in the floor he made caused him to jump, expecting an attack at any moment.

Finally, and after a long, draining walk, Uryu stood in front of his parent's room. He creaked open the door and glanced in, but the beds were still empty.

"Uryu?"

Uryu jumped in the air at the sudden voice and banged his head on the doorframe, sending sharp signals of pain through his body.

He was certainly awake _now_.

Uryu knelt, crouched on the floor, clutching his head where he was sure a bruise was forming. An ice pack was placed on the bump, and Uryu took a moment to realize it was his sister kneeling next to him. He looked up at her and saw her unusually concerned expression.

"What are you doing up? It's the middle of the night and you have school tomorrow, you should be in bed."

Uryu momentarily considered telling the truth, but decided saying "I watched a scary video you restricted from my computer and had a nightmare because of it" probably would not go over well. Instead he simply shrugged and gazed at the floor, avoiding her worried gaze.

"You had a nightmare?"

"Mmhm."

Although he could not see it, his sister smiled slightly at the ironic response her brother gave back. She was sure that, when he woke up a bit more, he would be horrified he had given the same response which had become her trademark.

"Do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?"

"...Mmhm."

"Alright then, let's go."

Slowly, carefully, Uryu sister tugged on his arm and herded him to her room. Soon, the pair of siblings were laying in bed together, the sister already fast asleep.

Now that Uryu had been given a chance to calm down, he could feel his emotions reform. The fear was still there, but the terror had been transformed into a more powerful quality: determination.

It was only now, when he understood the kind of damage people like Tatsuya could cause, that he had the proper motivation to do everything he could to destroy them. Looking back on it, Uryu realized how weak his drive to beat the other boy had been before, and felt embarrassment at the foolishness of his past plans.

After seeing what magicians could do, he now understood. There was no way a bunch of students with minimal martial arts skill could do anything against that, they would be destroyed. But, if those older kids could get Tatsuya to react, Uryu would be able to begin making strategies to counter Tatsuya.

It would appear his 'war' had turned into an information game.

Fine. The only thing that was important was whether he could win, and this game was just getting started.

* * *

Tatsuya cast a casual glance up as two students of interest walked across the field, him to hear their conversation. Uryu Hattori and Yuusuke Inoue had just exited the building, and the latter appeared heavily shaken by something.

Looking back down at his book, Tatsuya paid careful attention to the conversation. If they had seen something which would be dangerous to Miyuki he needed to know about it right away.

He caught the words "video," "magicians" and "danger" being whispered between the pair. If he had been anyone else, he would not have been able to hold back a long, dramatic sigh.

It seemed Uryu had just shown Yuusuke some of the "truth" about magicians. It would all have been much more convenient if the teacher had never brought up the idea of magicians at all.

Glancing back down at his book, he made an act of ignoring the suspicious glances and whispers cast his way by the pair, hoping they would lost interest in observing him soon.

Each additional minute that ticked by slowly crushed that hope into dust.

Tatsuya, once again, was only barely able to keep himself from sighing. While he was aware that he was dangerous enough for their fears to be justified, the children had no knowledge of those abilities and were allowing their emotions to control their argument. It was the logic of children, but Tatsuya still found himself annoyed by their actions.

No, that was not entirely fair; he brought this upon himself when he lost control. It did not matter _because_ they were just children, and it would be illogical to simultaneously be grateful for and condemn them for the same thing.

Tatsuya continued to repeat that sentence to himself as the children continued to whisper, hoping hearing it enough would make him believe it was true.

Turning to the next page in his book, Tatsuya tried instead to devote his attention to what he was treading. Since taking the CADs from the attempted kidnapper, he had been reading up on their design. It was just a casual interest (protecting Miyuki would always be his first priority), but it was also quite possibly the first hobby he had since the experiment. Reading about the programming of CADs also greatly increased his understanding of systematic magic, so Tatsuya felt it tied into protecting his sister.

Maya certainly seemed to approve, as she had gotten him a large number of electronic books when he asked her if he could do some research. Tatsuya had to acknowledge, however, that he had no way of knowing if her approval was a good thing or a bag thing. For now he would just keep an eye out for any sort of trap he might have been tricked into.

As it turned out, even Tatsuya had trouble focusing on what he was reading when he _knew_ there were people watching him. It kicked his instincts up to eleven and he could practically feel his power preparing to strike any attack.

Unfortunately, it would probably not go over well if he reacted to a childish lack of subtlety by decomposing the physical existence of two of his classmates. Even if Maya would probably be amused enough to approve of that action, Tatsuya knew it would be the bad kind of 'approve'.

Tatsuya glanced at the time on his screen, relaxing slightly at the number he saw. Only a few minutes left until PE started, and then school would be over. It was highly unlikely the boys would get him to react in that amount of time.

Tuning into their conversation, Tatsuya listened to the boys whispering about a need for more information. Apparently, Tatsuya had too much information on them compared to what they had on him.

If the trained assassins of the Yotsuba were unable to keep secrets from him, Tatsuya highly doubted a pair of children would be able to. Luckily, there was no harm in them trying so long as Tatsuya reacted appropriately.

"Appropriately", meaning he could act in defense of Miyuki, but would try to avoid using magic at all costs. Tatsuya was well - aware that, regardless of what videos the boys watched for their "research", personally seeing _his_ magic would be a hundred times more terrifying. There was a difference between humans fighting for their rights beyond being weapons, and a boy born for the express purpose of having the power to destroy the world.

Tatsuya took a calming breath; allowing the mental magic to remove any bitterness he might have had at being born to protect the Yotsuba family. It would do him no good to think about that.

Controlling his emotions would keep him from unintentionally hurting Miyuki. He just had to stay calm. Luckily, the magic placed on his mind did most of the work for him.

The last traces of tension left his body as the bell rang for school to start.

* * *

PE had, again, been filled mostly with Tatsuya giving aid to the other students on their technique rather than learning anything for himself, but that was fine. The older students who had also been helping out were annoyed by Tatsuya's talent and cold attitude, but that was fine too. What was not fine was how Uryu and Yuusuke had abruptly upped their game and either lost interest in watching him - unlikely- or had begun acting out the plan they had created.

Tatsuya was fairly confident there was nothing the boys could do to him which would be a cause for concern, but he was less sure than he was comfortable with when it came to them and Miyuki. For all that Miyuki was a prodigy at magic, she was also a child with next to no combat experience or martial arts. If they went after her-

Tatsuya stopped that thought as soon as it began, fully realizing how illogical it was. The boys were completely enamoured with her beauty and personality, so he was confident she was safe from them.

Tatsuya walked back to the classroom, keeping himself several yards behind her so as to not bother her. However, as the walk continued Tatsuya became more and more aware of how there were several people watching his movements. It seemed to be between five to ten people, but they were subtle enough to be older than the children at the school.

If Tatsuya were anyone else he would have given a long, dramatic sigh.

As it was, he did not want the people watching him to bother Miyuki, so he made a sudden detour to the left. The path he took brought him to an empty, deserted area behind several classrooms; a place where there would be no witnesses.

Tatsuya turned on his heel and found himself looking into the eyes of a group of eight high schoolers. The boys and girls were made up of both people who volunteered for the PE class and people he did not recognize.

(Though, judging from the state of their hands, Tatsuya would bet the ones he did not know did kendo).

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"We'd like to ask you to leave some of our friends alone," a girl from the kendo group growled.

For a moment, Tatsuya had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. Then he remembered the whispers between Uryu, Yuusuke, and the high schoolers he recognized and felt a sudden urge to childishly break something.

The magic in his brain erased that thought before it really formed.

"I thought it was weird enough that you didn't act like any of the other kids," one of the helpers spat, "but I had no idea you were the kind of guy who kept other students back through fear! I guess I should have realized you didn't belong."

The venom in their words surprised Tatsuya for a moment, and he suddenly realized he must have come across as too silent for a child his age. Even a shy kid showed emotion sometimes.

Tatsuya promised himself he would create a better mask for his common social interactions.

But, in the meantime…

An unsatisfactory outcome would include him using magic to end the situation quickly, so that was out of the question. Tatsuya also knew he could not keep Miyuki waiting for too long and have her endanger herself by leaving without him, so just sitting and taking their attacks would be foolish. He wanted to end it quickly, but having a sixth grader knock out a group of trained high school martial artists would kick down, step on, and disintegrate his cover story, so he was at a bit of a loss as to what to do. For a brief moment, he considered using his bloodlust to send the students to their knees.

'Because that worked so _perfectly_ the last time you tried it,' a voice mocked in his head. While he did not recognize it, the voice sounded a lot like what Miya - his mother but not really his mom but Miyuki's mom and that was all that mattered - told him when he did guardian training with her.

If nothing else, Tatsuya was eternally grateful to her for that; his training was literally the only thing which allowed him to protect Miyuki from the world outside the Yotsuba.

"I'm sorry, but I'm really not sure what you're talking about. Maybe it would be best if we were to talk to some of those kids so I can get a better understanding of what you mean," Tatsuya responded. While he had been thinking, he had about a quarter of his attention on what the older students were telling him, but it had been nothing worthwhile. They had done no research themselves, but were acting as if they were on some sort of moral high ground due to their age and larger numbers. Tatsuya had done research in manipulation through mob mentality, but this was the first time he had seen it in his 'civilian' life.

Human emotions were surprisingly illogical.

A boy from the kendo group scowled and stepped forward, running a frustrated hand through his hair as if _Tatsuya_ was behaving irrationally. He seemed to be the unspoken leader among his half of the group though, so Tatsuya made sure to listen to what he was saying.

"Look, kid… we're not planning on really doing anything. We just want you to admit what you're doing is wrong and agree to not do it again. Like… if you keep doing it we'll have a problem, but for now it's just this."

"I see. Then I'm sorry. I didn't realize that what I was doing was hurting the other kids, I'll not do it again. It was… it was just an accident, they surprised me," Tatsuya admitted, allowing a sliver of truth into his words.

"Bullshit."

The accusing hate in the voice that spoke surprised Tatsuya, and he glanced up to see one of the boys who had volunteered glaring at him. The girl next to him placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him down, but he just shook her off and stepped forward. Tatsuya took a hesitant step back.

"How clueless do you think we are? You _just said_ you didn't know what we were talking about, and now you expect us to turn around and accept an explanation like that? And I've seen you! You were asked to help, but you've never talked to one of us other volunteers or even any other students when you weren't giving them advice! Do you really think you're that much better than them? Than us?"

His voice had turned into a growl by the end, but Tatsuya could still hear what was being said loud and clear. In hindsight, Tatsuya supposed that he could see how antisocial he was being, but he did not think it was that bad. He had just… not talked to anyone and seemed content with being by himself. That was not unheard of for someone his age…

"Yeah!" Another spoke up, "And now we hear that you're bullying them? Scaring them? We should have known there was a reason no one came to talk to you. And I guess that's how you're apparently good enough at fighting to be an instructor when you're in sixth grade, isn't it? You just get into a lot of fights whenever you want to?"

At this, the kendo group's leader turned and glared at Tatsuya. From his body language, Tatsuya would assume the boy was probably a friend (or at least a personal acquaintance) of either Uryu or Yuusuke. A girl at his side started whispering to him, and Tatsuya caught the phrases "president," "Mion's brother" and "Uryu."

It would appear that Uryu was more skilled at manipulation that Tatsuya had expected. This was quickly becoming more annoying than any of it was worth, and he did not want to keep Miyuki waiting for much longer.

It would be best if he could diffuse the situation.

"I've apologised. I'm sorry, but I really do need to get to my little sister. I don't want her to be kept waiting for too long."

"Oh, so you don't even have time to talk to us and give an actual _genuine_ apology? What? Do you have more students you want to pick on? And like hell I'll believe you terrified a large group of kids on _accident_! I want a genuine apology before you go."  
Tatsuya was about to speak when a member of the kendo club interrupted.

"So, you have your own little sister. If you do, then why can't you understand us? You wouldn't want someone to hurt her, would you-" Tatsuya's heart jumped at those words, his mind desperately trying to crush the protective emotions the magic happily let through "-How would you feel if all of us - high school kids - looked around for her, cornered her and then beat her up!?"

By this point too many people were yelling at once for any words to be made out, but Tatsuya did not care. Outside noise had become muted, like he was underwater, the moment Tatsuya's brain registered what had been said.

Hurt Miyuki. They wanted to hurt Miyuki. _His_ MIyuki.

Instead of relaxing his emotions like usual, the mental magic rooted deep into his soul sang with encouragement at the emotions that now raced through his mind.

They were a danger. They had to be taken down. A danger. To Miyuki. Threats. To Miyuki. They would hurt her.

The yelling in the background continued, and one of the girl volunteers stepped forward, her fists clenching. She yelled something about family, but stopped when Tatsuya looked up to meet her gaze.

His eyes glowed a piercing ice-blue as his power darkened the sky around him. Unconsciously, Tatsuya began to clench his fists and glared at the people directly in front of him as the angry yelling continued.

Hurt her. Hurt Miyuki. _They_ would hurt Miyuki.

'Only if you let them,' his mother's voice reminded him, and his concentration centered on that single point.

Anything for Miyuki.

The magic within him erupted in glee as he kicked a boy in front of him into a nearby building.

* * *

Uryu watched the fight bellow him in a state of careful observation. Yuusuke was rubbing his hands together, still sore after all the work it took them to put together cameras which could follow the group. Uryu, Yuusuke and several other members of the group had laughed in excitement at the drones they had created using kits they bought at a toy store; it was just like the cops did when they were tracking down the bad guys.

Now, however, they all sat in contemplative silence. While they had seen him mad, none of the people in the group had seen Tatsuya really fight before. As Uryu glanced back, he knew he had made the right decision in letting people other than him and Yuusuke (his first lieutenant) watch the fight.

If this did not secure their loyalty, nothing would.

And, based on their expressions, they would be falling at his feet for the chance to destroy Tatsuya soon enough.

Uryu looked down and tuned out the fight in front of him. He already knew Tatsuya was powerful, there was no reason to continue watching the fight. Especially since every time Tatsuya brought one of them down Uryu was uncomfortably aware _he_ had caused them to get hurt.

Though Tatsuya was technically hurting them, so it was mostly his fault.

Regardless, what interested him was how the fight had _started_.

At the basketball courts, Tatsuya had claimed innocence (despite knowing full well exactly what he did if the 'it was an accident' was any indication), but then he had thrown the first punch. Kick. Whatever.

Uryu had been so sure the older students would need to be forced to throw an attack. He had thought they would only intimidate today, but maybe would turn to fighting later. But, as Uryu looked up again at the screen in front of him, he knew that had not happened.

A girl punched at him, Tatsuya ducked, she missed, a boy from behind kicked, Tatsuya jumped to the boy, there was a _c_ **r** _a_ c ** _k_** , the boy fell. Knocked out? The boy shakily stood up again. He had trouble breathing, but otherwise was fine. A boy ran up behind Tatsuya, but he calmly grabbed the boy's arm, twisted his body, and flipped the boy over his shoulder.

The boy crashed into the ground, and Uryu was hugely grateful the drones had a zoom in strong enough that they could keep watching from far away. Seeing this- seeing people he _knew_ \- was just as intimidating as the clips of battles because it was so, so much more real.

Uryu looked up again to the fight on the screen. He continued to watch, Tatsuya continued to attack. Bodies dropped to the ground- covered the floor- people stepped on them- only a few crawled back up - the rest were out - dead?

Uryu paused, momentarily frozen in horror, then thought for a moment.

No. Not dead. Tatsuya would never be so careless.

Tatsuya suddenly ducked- a stick swung over his head- the kendo club's makeshift weapons- Tatsuya's leg brought the girl to the ground. A boy from the wrestling team jumped on top of Tatsuya, rolled to Tatsuya's back, got elbowed in the face - a bloody nose - but did not let go. The remaining fighters surrounded them, Tatsuya rolled out of the wrestlers grip, returned to the fight, got scratched with a stick.

Blood flew into the air.

This was definitely not a one-on-one thing like the movies. It was a street fight. With broken bones and blinded eyes and pulling hair and blood and sweat and tears and anger and death.

No, not death. Angry as he was, Tatsuya had not hit any of them in a fatal area. Their windpipes were fine, and their eyes were only splashed with dust. He was still somewhat in control.

And yet he had started the fight.

He had done his glare and he had kicked someone out of the way. Why would he do that when he made an excuse of 'overreacting a little' before? Why would he risk it? Why? Why? _Why_?

He had first looked angry when-

 _"How would you feel if all of us - high school kids - looked around for her, cornered her and then beat her up!?"_

When Miyuki was mentioned. Just like for basketball; only appearing when the ball approached Miyuki. He did not react to their aggression during gym because it was always aimed at him, never Miyuki.

Miyuki was the reason. The reason for everything. The reason a weapon like Tatsuya went to their school and did their gym class and did their boring normal people math problems and took stupid notes during class and pretended to be the one thing he was not: normal.

As the last high schooler fell to the ground, Uryu glanced up at the screen. Tatsuya had a cut on his forehead and was panting heavily, sweat dripping off his scalp.

The image turned fuzzy as the drones lost power, so Yuusuke picked up the controls and directed the drones back to the place they were staying. The screens in front of them turned black, but Uryu could not get the last image out of his head.

Tatsuya's forehead had been bleeding. The president of the kendo club had attacked with a stick and grazed him a split second before he was brought to the ground.

The wound had turned red and now that Tatsuya had stopped moving Uryu could see it had been bleeding.

It had not taken a gun, or some sort of secret weapon. Just a sick.

The kids behind him were shaking, and even the two sisters who had been brought along had fear in their eyes. Uryu understood how they felt- his hand was still shaking - but he also had noticed the red.

They made him bleed. He _wasn't_ invincible.

Good to know.

* * *

Tatsuya panted heavily as he pulled out his phone. He had an uncharacteristic scowl set on his face, but the magic in his mind soon calmed him down enough to return to his emotionless expression. He would need to work on faking a pleasant smile soon... maybe Sakurai could help him.

She would need to, or something like this might happen again. Now that he had a chance to relax, his mind was cursing himself for his own blatant stupidity. Even the man who had tried to kidnap Uryu and Yuusuke only had a connection to Miyuki in Tatsuya's mind. The high schoolers had threatened her themselves.

His first exposure to something like that had allowed him to feel a level of unblocked emotion he never had before. And that emotion sharpened him into a weapon.

Tatsuya was sure that - had it not been for his guardian training in self control - he would have simply decomposed everything and everyone in the surrounding block. Turning Miyuki's friends to ash before her would not have been his best move.

Not that this was much better. He should have known not to react the way he did. Now he had to deal with the high school students, and that was a whole mess in and of itself.

The call went through.

"Sakurai?"

He paused.

"Yes, I apologise, but I need some help. I need you to send a mental magician to my location. I may have overreacted to a perceived threat - no, I'm fine, calm down - I just need someone to alter memories…. No, please send an expert. I'll only need you to switch their memory of me to it being someone else standing there, but I can't risk any imperfections."

Tatsuya wiped the blood off his forehead, activating regrowth and returning his body to its previous state. He supposed he should be grateful the fight had not injured him enough for an unconscious activation- that would be hard to explain.

"Yes, I'll be careful. Thank you."

Tatsuya ended his call and began running to the front of the school, hoping Miyuki had not gotten impatient and already left. As he ran, he developed a plan for increasing his self control. He could not allow himself to continue reacting like this.

Eventually, Miyuki would be in high school. At a magic high school they might need to worry about politics with the other members of ten master clans, especially since Miyuki would undoubtedly be chosen as freshman representative. If he continued to react like this, there was no chance of surviving a political confrontation with them.

And, while he could not do anything to forcefully stop Uryu, he could stop his own reactions from increasing their motivation. It was far from his best plan, but he did not have too many other options.

Well, he would make do. This was what he was trained for, after all.

* * *

Uryu hesitated for a moment as he stood outside the door to the gym. After convincing his sister to let him visit the kendo team again - an act which involved a record breaking amount of 'Mmhm's - she decided to let him come to another of her practices. The begging it required was a level of embarrassment Uryu had never experienced before.

But he needed to do this. He had to figure out what happened to the older students after they were taken down. Uryu had been expecting them to immediately come to him with questions about Tatsuya, but none of them did. No one was wondering 'hey, why was a sixth grader good enough at martial arts to take down a bunch of high schoolers?' or 'did Uryu _know_ how strong Tatsuya was before he asked them to go against him?' or 'was the whole thing intentional? Fake? Why did it happen?'

Now, Uryu knew high schoolers could be unreasonably thick (his sister being the prime example), but he had trouble believing none of them had noticed _anything_ weird about what had happened.

Creaking open the gym door, Uryu took a deep breath and walked inside the gym. After glancing around for a bit, his gaze zeroed in on the person he wanted to talk to.

"Excuse me? Club president?" Might as well start out on a positive note, "Can I talk to you?"

Said boy looked over and his face formed into a friendly, enthusiastic smile. "Mion's brother! Sure, just…"

He glanced around, scanning the area for his terrifying sister. After a quick sweep of the area, he relaxed and turned to Uryu again, "Sure, just give me a second to put these away," he said, gesturing to the sheaths which lay scattered by his feet.

Uryu patiently waited as the club president finished up his work, then walked with Uryu to a desolate corner of the gym. The club president turned to Uryu with a curious but patient look.

Uryu could not quite stop his eyes from falling to the cast the older boy had on his arm.

The club president noticed his stare and glanced down as well, then blushed heavily, giving a sheepish laugh along with a self- deprecating sigh.

"Don't worry about this, I'll be fine. The doctor said it was an amazingly clean break, so it'll heal with no trouble so long as I keep off it for a few days… weeks. Whatever."

"How… how exactly did you break it?" Uryu's voice was shaky, as his mind was overwhelmed with a sudden, terrifying realization. Right after being scratched by the club president, Tatsuya had kicked the other boys arm before knocking him out. Uryu had thought the arm should not have been able to bend that way.

"Oh, it actually happened just after we talked to that kid who had been bullying you at your school. We were about to leave when a few big men - probably from a gang or something - showed up and started to attack us. The other kids who were there got hurt too, but we all got off pretty lightly. Why? Is that kid still bothering you?"

Uryu was so caught up in processing what he had just been told that he almost missed the question. It was only when the president got unnerved by the silence and waved a hand in front of Uryu's face that he answered.

"Huh? Oh... _oh_! No, it's fine between us now. Thanks for your help, but I think I'm pretty much good now. I'll tell you all if that changes, okay? Hope you feel better soon."

"Thank's kid," the president said with a smile. "Well, I've got a lot more equipment I can clean - breaking my arm was actually a blessing in some ways - so I'll be going now. Just wait on the side until practice is over, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

Sitting down on the edge of the mat, Uryu was given time to think. With this he was now left with three possibilities: Tatsuya had either used some super crazy mind power magic that Uryu had never heard of before, he had forced the older students to join his conspiracy and made them all act like nothing weird had happened, or Uryu's drone had somehow given them the wrong information.

After carefully considering the options and the likelihood that his cheap, store bought drone could be hacked, Uryu reached his conclusion. Obviously the most likely option was that Tatsuya had access to unheard of mental magic and completely rewrote the memories of everyone present. That sounded like something he would be able to do.

Sometimes, when the truth is strange enough to be fiction, it takes the naive mind of a child to see it.

* * *

Miyuki could not keep a smile off her face as she returned to her room in the Yotsuba villa. She, like all students, was excited for the rapidly approaching break from school. And to top it all off, her mother had just told her that, for this vacations, she would get to go to the island of Okinawa.

Miyuki gave a small twirl as she stepped into her room and shut her door. Immediately, the near-silent footsteps which had followed her all the way to her room came to a sudden halt. Miyuki's smile disappeared.

Logically, she understood it was her brother's - no, that boy never acted like her brother - it was his job to follow after her and protect her. Even though he had no magic himself, he was meant to be her bodyguard.

Even though she had never done anything to deserve his protection, he was meant to lay down his life in service of her.

She shook her head, clearing away that train of thought.

As she collapsed onto her bed, a wave of anger consumed her towards the boy-who-made-no-sense.

He was treated as a servant, but he was her brother. He was looked at with disdain, but expected to value her life above all. He was supposed to be powerless, but he was also her protector. He was always distant in school, but had almost hurt her classmates when she was almost hit with a ball.

Miyuki scowled, growling and punching her pillows with half-hearted effort. After a minute or two, she stopped and flushed bright red at her immature actions.

She breathed out slowly to relax.

Oh well, maybe Okinawa would help her take her mind off of him.


	3. Chapter 3

To fencer29: Thank you for your review. You're right, I had totally forgotten about the grade-thing. It's a bit late to change now, so we'll just pretend that (since this is decades in the future) something has changed the way the Japanese school system works. Or if this messes with the timeline of when Okinawa happened, just imagine that it being a parallel universe has changed a few things. I'll try to keep that in mind in the future!

(And one reminder: I am going to try to not make this a romance because it seemed like Tatsuya genuinely viewed her as his sister, so I think it's a little creepy. It'll be similar, but it won't end up as a romance).

* * *

It was official: the Shiba family made no sense at all.

Uryu could barely stop himself from continuously hitting his head on the table in frustration when he saw what had happened over break. Apparently whatever 'Okinawa vacation' Miyuki's friends said they went on was crazy enough to completely alter the relationship between the Shiba siblings.

Where before Miyuki had seemed uncomfortable around him, she was now initiating their interactions. Where before she had avoided making eye contact, she now actively sought it. Where before she seemed to be set on ignoring her brother, she now could not keep her eyes off him for too long. Where before she had paid _some_ attention to the boys in the class, she now focused only on her _blood-related_ brother.

They had been at Okinawa for a few days, not years! How could this have happened to an angel like _Shiba Miyuki_?

The more he thought about it, the less sense it made. She was on Tatsuya's side just like all the… adults… were…

Of course! Miyuki had tried to resist, but she was in a family with Tatsuya; the conspiratory organization must have brainwashed her. Uryu had heard about the attack by the Great Asian Alliance on the island, so maybe she was brainwashed in the confusion before the new strategic class magician stopped the fight.

Uryu burned with a desire for righteous justice on behalf of the beautiful girl who, even now that the bell had rung, was _still_ gazing at her brother.

Glancing around, Uryu saw that he was far from the only person who had noticed. Approximately three quarters of the class were ignoring the teacher and looking between the Shiba siblings. Then more people started wondering what everyone was looking at and glanced over as well. Five sixths. Nine tenths. Eleven twelfths.

Soon, the only person still actually _watching_ the teacher was Tatsuya, who was apparently pretending he did not notice how everyone was staring at him. It was actually impressive how he could still pretend like today was normal.

Well, him and the teacher (who was oblivious and completely incapable of taking care of twenty _fish_ , much less children). If nothing else, Uryu was glad that this time other people had noticed how weird the siblings were, even if adults remained ignorant.

Then again, as Uryu glanced between Tatsuya and the impossibly un-observant teacher, he came to a new theory: the conspiracy. It would not be impossible for the teacher to also be in on it like all the other adults in their life. Was it just something that happened as you got older? Was it inescapable? A right of passage to let you be considered an adult?

Uryu glared at the teacher and realized how suspicious some of the actions he had taken were. He always appeared to favor Tatsuya, claiming he was amazed by Tatsuya's intelligence. But, if he already knew about it, then it was possible he was just a soldier of whatever magic-conspiracy group Tatsuya was a part of.

Uryu sighed, cursing himself for being foolish enough to believe _any_ adults in his life were untouched by the conspiracy. He was back to just relying on himself and his fellow committee members, it seemed.

At the front of the class, a completely-civilian-and-just-highly-boring teacher hesitated slightly at the furious glare he felt aimed they way by one of their students.

* * *

"Miyuki, can we talk for a moment?"

"Of course, Onii-sama!" Before she could even finish speaking, Miyuki and stood up and was already walking out the door. Tatsuya followed her, forcing himself to not react to the twenty-some stares which followed their every step.

"Oh, onii-sama, I heard from the guardians that our aunt is interested in encouraging your CAD- programing ability!" Miyuki mentioned as soon as Tatsuya caught up to her. "I'm so happy she's finally seeing how amazing you are! Now we just need the rest of the family to see it too and we'll be all set!"

Tatsuya's smile faltered as he was suddenly overwhelmed by a torrent of conflicting emotions. One part of him - the majority - was graced with happiness; his sister loved him and was happy. Everything seemed right in the world. However, he could not stop the slight trace of sadness which came with the naive words themselves.

She would be the next head; everyone in the family knew it. She had to love her family above all else. Her mother, and cousins, and uncles and friends in the guardians. It was only logical to assume she would want everyone she loved to also be able to love each other and become a happy family.

But that would never happen. Tatsuya was too powerful, too dangerous, too emotionless- never mind that it was _them_ who made him like that. There was no chance of Tatsuya ever really belonging in the family. No matter how much he wanted to, it was simply unrealistic to believe the rest of the family would genuinely care about him.

(With the possible exception of his aunt, but he doubted Miyuki would approve of the underlying threats and manipulations between them if she found out).

As they continued to walk, Miyuki continued to babble on about their aunt's interest in Tatsuya's programing ability. He supposed he could see how it would be convenient for the family to gain additional income through him, especially if it would also strengthen their ties to his biological father's company. It would certainly be much stronger than an political marriage which they all knew meant nothing else.

But, if Miyuki would be happy to let him explore CADs, then he would. It was one of the first things outside of Miyuki which he had enjoyed in a long, long time. Tatsuya made a sharp right turn into a small hallway, pulling Miyuki along with him.

He came to a sudden halt in his steps and listened. Footsteps scattering. Their uninvited audience knew they could not keep following the siblings without being discovered, so they had run. He would finally be able to talk to Miyuki.

Tatsuya turned on his heel, looking towards his sister's confused but adorable expression.

"Miyuki, are you feeling alright? You haven't been able to focus during class today." Tatsuya was not so unobservant as to not know the reason why, but phrasing it any other way would have come across as rude.

Miyuki blushed slightly, but (like any proper young lady) took control of her emotions and calmed down.

"No, I apologize Onii-sama. It was- I was… I'm seeing everything in a new light. I already knew how you acted in class, but now I'm watching and I see it all so differently. It's like… it's as if I had seen everything as blurry, unfocused blotches before, but Okinawa cleaned the dirty lense, so now I'm seeing clearly for the first time. I see the way you talk to people, and I see the way you answer questions, and I see the way you never falter and it means something different than it would have before."

Despite his best efforts at remaining stern, Tatsuya could not stop the small smile which sneaked onto his face. This, before him, was the girl he would give everything to protect: his highest priority. And, for the first time in his life, she deeply cared about him as well. It was everything he could possibly ask for.

"Miyuki," he calmed himself, not allowing his emotions to get in the way of his point. "I'm glad you're happy. You are everything to me, so nothing makes me happier. However, I am concerned with how it looks to the people around us; the students are starting to ask questions. This is not truly an issue in and of itself, but it may become one if they begin to pester you for information on why you have suddenly changed. It will not be obvious and may even be unintentional, but if your friends and classmates keep asking why you've changed so suddenly in casual conversation, you may forget the specifics of what our aunt has asked you to keep hidden. I have trouble believing you would be happy with the fates of your classmates _then_."

Throughout his speech, Miyuki's eyes and gradually widened in horror. Other than the family's true name and reputation, Miyuki had never had many secrets she needed to keep. Their mother and aunt had prioritized training her in magic over guardian abilities or politics, so acting had never been her forte.

Unlike Tatsuya, however, she could relate to people and get them to actually _like_ her. She could smile at them and all their worries would be blown away. She could tell them something was not a problem, and they would believe her without hesitation.

Had she been the one to forget control and snap in front of Uryu, Tatsuya knew she would have been able to make him forget about it by the end of the day.

"I understand," Miyuki looked up, determination burning in her eyes. "I will do my best to control the situation. I apologize for not having thought of this myself."

"It's not as big of a problem as I made it out to be, I just wanted to nip the bud early so that you could develop the right habits. How you choose to approach this is up to you, I thought you might want to keep it in mind."

While he said this, Tatsuya allowed the smile to return to his face, hoping it would make him come across as genuinely fine with it. He was not, however, expecting the sudden hug he was given, and nearly fell over in his shock.

"Thank you, Onii-sama. For telling me. You really do always look out for me, don't you?" Miyuki looked up at him, a warm expression on her face. "Thank you for your help."

Tatsuya, who had been standing with his arms awkwardly by his side as he was hugged, abruptly realized that was not the right response and hesitantly lifted his hand to pat her head.

"It really doesn't matter that much. Are you ready to head back now?"

Miyuki let go of him and nodded, then walked back to the main part of school. As Tatsuya followed behind her, he thought about the advice he had just given her.

The reason it had occurred to him to say anything was actually due to experience more than foresight. While it was unlikely it would ever be as bad, Tatsuya had not wanted her to make the same mistakes he did with Uryu. Now, he was being intensely watched and scrutinized by a group of people who had expressed a willingness to use physical violence to get more information.

Well, that may have been a bit of an exaggeration. Tatsuya had thrown the first punch, and Uryu had not arranged it so that a physical confrontation was inevitable. It had just… happened.

In much the same way his interactions with Uryu had just… happened. As Tatsuya stood on his end of the classroom and watched how Miyuki flawlessly smoothed over the concerns of her friends, a sense of awe filled him. How could she be so impressed with him, when she was able to do this easily? He would not be able to make a perfect copy of her technique, but watching her was a flawless example of how he should act:

The way her smile seemed infectious to those around her, the way each casual movement put her classmates at ease, the way she came across as untouchable to the people around her. Tatsuya tended to come across as 'untouchable' as well, but it was usually due to fear, rather than awe.

There was just… something about Miyuki that made her the object of everyone's affection. While he was fine the way he was, it was the one skill Tatsuya knew he was just _fine_ at. And that was not good enough. Unfortunately, he would have difficulty acquiring the skill without practicing it, and he essentially had no peers with whom he could interact.

So, when Miyuki glanced over at him and motioned for him to join her, Tatsuya forced himself to squash his uncertainty and walk over.

* * *

Just when he thought the Shiba family could not get any weirder, they did.

Okay, so their goddess Miyuki-sama was no longer devoting all her attention to _just_ her brother, but she waved him over and got him to join a conversation. Uryu had seen the split-second where Tatsuya's 'I'm pleasantly happy' mask dropped and gave way to hesitation; he was forcing himself to be part of the conversation.

Why though? What would Miyuki possibly have to gain from doing that? And Tatsuya was smiling calmly and interacting, hiding the dangerous magic part of himself as best he could. It honestly seemed like a lot of work for Tatsuya, and Uryu was left wondering why he would bother interacting with them at all. Tatsuya was weird, but was he really so weird that he would choose to do something he hated for no reason?

Glancing over again, Uryu could see that a large number of committee members were also part of the group which had formed around Miyuki and Tatsuya Shiba. Traitors. Maybe he would call them later and get a report on anything new they might have discovered about the siblings.

Like him, Yuusuke seemed to be standing on the side observing. While it should be expected of his second in command, Uryu felt a spark of pride at seeing it. _They_ would not be so easily deceived by Tatsuya's act.

"What do you think about the monster's act?"

Yuusuke glanced to his right at Uryu, before turning back to look at the crowd. Miyuki had gotten her friends to bring their friends, and now the group in the center consisted of most of the class. Even though the bell was about to ring, almost no one was bothering to sit in their seats.

"It's a bit hard to tell… Tatsuya's never wanted to talk with people like they're friends before. He always seemed to be happy coming off as silent and unapproachable…"

"I'm pretty sure that's still what he likes doing. He didn't seem happy about going over at first…"

"Maybe the angel is trying to purify him," Yuusuke drawled with a roll of his eyes. "If he really hates this, we can always hope he'll just leave the school before he becomes used to pretending to be a human."

"He's a monster," Uryu immediately reminded. "Tatsuya isn't the kind of thing that would get scared off so easily. If anything, he'd probably just kill all the students in the school and take off with Miyuki."

"Do you… do you think we might need to save her?'

Uryu turned to look at his friend in surprise, before gleeful smiles formed on both of their faces. "We could… if… if the situation calls for it, then Miyuki will need someone to protect her from the monster."

"I- uh- kinda. Isn't it our job to keep the other students safe. Just because Miyuki was tricked, doesn't mean she doesn't need our protection if she's put in danger because of him…."

The smirks on the boys' faces were not the king anyone would expect out of a 'hero', but they were momentarily too lost in the idea to realize that. Uryu looked back at the group in front of him, carefully watching Tatsuya's attempts at being social.

He obviously had not needed any more motivation to destroy the monster, but it would be great if everything else would work out for him as a result of what he did.

Now all he had to do was get more information on Tatsuya to find his weaknesses.

Meanwhile, Tatsuya continued talking to his classmates and trying not to react to the burning glare Uryu sent his way.

* * *

Uryu sat on his bed, practically bouncing in excitement as he waited for the call to connect. He could hear the news his sister was watching in the living room as it played a story about a company called 'Four Leaves Technology' gaining a new head of the third division earlier that week. Apparently, the world could expect a new product to be released by the company between a month and a year, causing curiosity into who the division head was.

Now, normally Uryu would have been annoyed at his sister for not lowering the volume when he told her he was going to have a call, but it was about a company which designed 'CADs', so it was also about magic. More information on the enemy could never hurt.

Then, finally, the call was picked up. Just like what happened during the formation of their courageous committee, Uryu could see all his friends on the holographic screens surrounding him. Every member was watching him intently, curious as to why they were having another phone meeting.

The purpose of the meeting was simple: get everyone up to date on what they knew about Tatsuya.

It had to be on phones because… there really was no reason; Uryu just liked having all the screens surrounding him. Checking briefly to make sure he had everyone's attention, he cleared his throat and started talking.

"We are gathered here today for a specific, holy purpose," he announced, quoting one of his favorite movies. "I want to share the information we have observed and theorize reasons for his recent irregular behavior."

A few of the boys nodded hesitantly, and some of the girls seemed to be considering ending the call to do something else. They were not interested in the discussion; he needed to recapture their attention.

Quickly Uryu deviated from his planned speech and improvised, "The reason for this sudden meeting is the event which we all saw at school today: Miyuki and Tatsuya socializing."

Confused stares were immediately directed toward him, but he had captured their attention so Uryu allowed himself to relax slightly. Turning to make eye contact with each individual committee member, he raised a stern, authoritative eyebrow and interrogated them.

"How many of you were part of, or at least saw, the crowd of people who started talking with the siblings."

More confusion, but eventually everyone had slowly raised their hands.

"Good. Now, this wasn't an unusual event. Miyuki Shiba always gets a bunch of people to talk with each other in groups, and I know for a fact we have all been part of one. What's unusual is that - this time - Tatsuya was involved too. Whatever happened between those siblings at Okinawa changed their relationship, and I want to know why."

Finally, he could see the gears turning in their heads as they pieced together why the meeting was so important. Leaning back slightly, Uryu allowed the group to think through what they knew about the siblings.

"Um…" a boy began, waiting until he received Uryu's attention. "So, uh, well… I was just thinking… we all know what happened at Okinawa, right? Isn't it possible that going through something where they both could have died changed their relationship a little? I mean, that happens all the time in movies and stuff..."

Uryu could see the suggestion was quickly being accepted by everyone, so he rushed to point out the glaring problem wit it. "As nice of an idea as that is, do you really think Tatsuya was ever in any danger?"

"I-well… it was an army that attacked…"

"Guys, really. Yuusuke and I told you about what happened with that one nice man who had chocolate. If Tatsuya was able to take down a man easily- forget not taking a scratch, he wasn't even breathing heavily - do you really think this would be any different? I mean, I guess it's possible that Miyuki's suddenly less hostile to him because he saved her, but the day was really won by that strategic class magician."

"Strategic class?" one of the girls asked.

"Uh, yeah. Isn't that what they called him on the news?" Uryu asked, coming across less confident than he wanted to. The kids all looked at each other and seemed to remember hearing the phrase, but none of them knew what it meant.

"I'll look it up," Yuusuke offered, quickly pulling up a keyboard to research. After a few seconds, his eyes widened in shock and his breathing momentarily stopped.

"What's wrong?" Uryu demanded, suspicion rising.

Yuusuke hesitated for several seconds, but eventually took a deep breath and turned to the camera with a nervous expression. A moment later, the fear was overcome with determination.

He read, "Strategic class magicians are individuals who possess Modern Magic that was created through the use of highly advanced science and technology. All of whom wield power comparable to weapons of mass destruction."

Several members squeaked, not having realized the potential of magic. Uryu was stunned as well, having thought the Ten Master Clans were at the pinnacle of dangerous magic.

"I-uh," Uryu's stutter recaptured the attention of his peers, so he calmed down and continued. "Um, we obviously don't have much knowledge on magic right now. I don't feel like we have enough information to address the question I posed earlier, so why don't we do some more research and then come back to this-" a few boys groaned "yeah, I know, research sucks. But it doesn't have to be detailed, let's just try to keep ourselves from being erased along with the rest of the town because a magician was in a bit of a bad mood that day."

Phrasing it like that had their (if reluctant) compliance. Being suddenly made aware there was something that could do that to them tended to be reasonable motivation.

"Ah, um," a girl who Uryu vaguely remembered being named Chandra suddenly got the attention of the group. "I- my Dad, he works for a company called Four Leaves Technology. I could maybe- probably get some information about the new developments of magic happening right now… though that's not what the company specializes in."

The name sounded familiar to Uryu, and he suddenly realized it was the one he had heard on the news.

Apparently he was not the only one, as another boy asked, "Aren't they the big group that got the new division head recently? For whatever division develops their new stuff?"

"Uh, yeah! Actually, uh, I'm kinda-not-really supposed to tell you this, and Dad wasn't supposed to tell me, but I know the name of the new head person. He, um, he goes by Taurus Silver!"

"And do we know what he's trying to do?"

"Uh, no I don't know yet… but I can probably find out for us."

Uryu smirked and nodded in approval. "Alright, you'll look into that, and the rest of us will do more research into the dangers of magic and the magicians who wield it. Dismissed!"

Everyone nodded to him and ended the calls. Uryu, meanwhile, was practically vibrating in excitement. _Finally_ they had a path to start attacking him from. Eventually, they would know enough to hit Tatsuya where it hurt (other than through Miyuki, who was an angel and had to be eternally protected).

It was only a matter of time.

* * *

"Daddy!" a short girl with medium-length blond hair yelled as she ran into her father's arms. Chandra's dad would always dote on her when he came home for dinner to make up for constant late nights of work his job required. The latter fact annoyed her Mom, but Chandra was sure that was only because the older woman did not understand how amazing the stuff her dad was doing actually was.

He got to work with _magic_. What could possibly be more important?

"How was school today Princess?" Chandra gave her father a beaming smile and proceeded to tell him about the art project they had done in class while she was carried to the kitchen.

"...Oh! And then the weirdest thing happened! We were just finished with the project and at break and stuff, and Miyuki and her brother, uh, Tatsuya, went to the side and talked. When they came back, the _two_ of them were the center of attention for the rest of break. Miyuki actually got her brother to talk with the rest of us for fun!"

"...And why is that weird, princess?" her lovably ignorant father asked, obviously having lost track of the conversation's logical trail. It was always annoying how her father just did not understand how her generation worked.

"Because it was _Tatsuya_! We all know he's smart, and athletic, and talented, and-" Chandra paused abruptly, stopping herself from finishing her description with 'terrifying'. While she always loved the stories her father told her about magic and loved being able to use magic like her parents, witnessing Tatsuya's power (even through a drone video) was enough to open her eyes past the rose- colored glass.

Her family had kept her powers a secret from most other families in the neighborhood, and Chandra was now glad about that. It was one thing to use magic when given careful instruction and a CAD, it was another to have the power to annihilate any enemy in your path.

Chandra's parents had insisted she learn a small bit of magic to see how she felt about that, so the video revealed something different to her than it did to everyone else: other people might have magic, but almost no magicians Tatsuya's age could fight anywhere close to his level.

She would have to see his magic to know for sure, but he might be as far above her in combat as she was above non-magicians.

"...And what, princess?... Chandra?"

Her father's voice snapped Chandra out of her thoughts, and she shook her head to focus her mind.

"Sorry, daddy. And… and amazing and stuff. He usually doesn't talk unless he has to, and he never seems to care that much about having close friends. No one… hates him, he just makes some people a little uncomfortable. You know, that kind of person. So it was weird to have him in the middle of class."

"I see. Well, I got an alert saying you were on a group call earlier today, were you gossiping about this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence?" Chandra glared at her father for his unhidden sarcasm, but shrugged as they entered the kitchen and gave him a quick nod.

"Actually, yeah. Uryu and Yuusuke and I and a few other boys and girls all got together to talk about it. You might not understand how our social hierarchy works, but it was really, really weird."

Her father nodded at her words, then turned to her mom and started talking about boring adult-stuff. Chandra sat in silence for several minutes, then remembered the mission she had been assigned.

 _"Uh, no I don't know yet… but I can probably find out for us."_

Right. She had a job to find out more about Taurus Silver and the new discoveries being made in magic. Briefly, she ran over the advice Uryu had given her for getting the information they wanted:

 _"Be careful. Don't seem overly-invested. Casually bring it up. Act like you can't remember where you heard it from. Don't trust the adults with the truth."_

While Chandra disliked lying to her dad, she also knew she had a duty to the rest of the committee to get the information. For something like that, some sacrifices would have to be made.

"...You okay Princess?"

"Huh?!"

Chandra jumped in her seat and immediately glanced up, a slight panic attack throwing adrenalin into her system.

"I asked if you wanted any more food, but you seemed lost in your own little world," he explained with a smile. In the background, Chandra could see her mom give an amused roll of her eyes, but Chandra's mind was occupied with repeating the single hardest piece of advice she had been given.

 _'Don't trust the adults with the truth. Don't trust the adults with the truth. Don'ttrusttheadultswiththetruth!'_

"Oh, yeah, yeah! I-I'm fine. Good, it's all good. Just… lost in my own little world. But you, uh, knew that 'cause you… uh… just said that that's what… ummm…."

Chandra's mom gave her a mockingly stern look, "I thought we were going to work on those stutters and 'uh's?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I-um-sorry!"

As Chandra continued to flail, her parents began to laugh. Soon, Chandra relaxed and joined them, her momentary panic attack and mission forgotten.

"I- no. I'm fine. Thanks for dinner, but I actually had a question for Daddy."

Seeing his full attention turn to her, Chandra took a deep breath and steeled herself. She did not like hiding things from her dad, but Uryu had made it clear that she had an important job to do.

"Uh, could you maybe tell me more about Taurus Silver?" His face suddenly fell, turning into the expression he always had when he was about to refuse her request. "-Uh, nothing _secret_. I just wanna know more about magic and what he's trying to do and… stuff. Please? It doesn't have to be anything classified or anything."

Her father seemed to mull the idea over in his head, making quick eye contact with his wife before sighing. He turned to her, and Chandra instantly knew she was going to get what she asked for.

It was convenient her dad was such an open book.

"...Alright. There's a few things I can show you if you're really curious, but you're going to have to wait until after dinner."

* * *

"Woah…" Chandra looked around the room and inspected every detail. Her father's normally baren office had been turned on, covering the walls with holograms of company information.

Chandra got reasonable grades in school, but all the numbers in front of her seemed meaningless. She turned to her dad, eyes wide, and silently begged for an explanation.

Her father laughed.

"Do you remember what I told you about how magic works Princess?"

"Oh, uh. I think we take the energy in our bodies and, uh, convert the signals into start the activation sequence and change reality… and we need to use the CAD because it's really, really slow to use magic without a CAD since you have to do all the processes by yourself while the magic is happening, but the CAD can have the sequence for you and… and I think you don't have to work as hard then…?"

"Perfect! Yes, we need to use the CAD to convert the psion's in a magician because it gives us increased stability, speed and a wide range of spells we can cast. However, CADs are far from perfect, so we need to do everything we can to keep updating them. And… this isn't a company secret, but it will make a bigger impression on the public if they don't find out, okay?" Chandra gave an enthusiastic nod, so her father smiled and continued. "And it usually works fine, but from what I've heard there's a specific problem Taurus Silver wants to tackle first: repeating magic."

"...Is that something I should know?"

"It's not an official term, just something we've been using to describe it until we think of a better one. But if you want to use magic, you need to restart the CAD's activation sequence, right?"  
"...Yeah, um, of course?"

"The idea behind this is that it will allow a magician to cast the same spell again and again without having to restart the activation sequences. Magic will be an almost completely different art if we're able to get this to work! Now, a lot of people have tried and failed before, but apparently the third division was going crazy about the "prodigy who would save them all." We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"I… is that even possible? How would they… uh-"

"Well, I'm not a developer, so I've got no idea what his plan is. But if it's the problem you're confused about, I know enough to make it a little more clear."

Picking her up, Chandra's father brought her over to one of the holograms he had set up and began showing her the theory again. The light of their good magic warmed Chandra's soul.

And, best of all, she would have a lot to tell Uryu about later.

* * *

"Faster magic…" Uryu whispered in shock after hearing Chandra's report. "They're going to get even more dangerous than before…. And they won't even have to get better themselves…."

Judging from her startled reaction, Chandra had not thought of that until Uryu had lain it out for her. But the general incompetence of the members of the committee was not important, the threat posed by Taurus silver was.

CADs were the one part of magic Uryu felt like he had no knowledge off, as they had seemed unimportant until that moment. It would seem that would have to change.

Stepping forward and easily capturing the attention of the entire group, Uryu cleared his throat and looked Chandra dead in the eyes, causing her to straighten in attention.

Good.

"Chandra. As thanks for the valiant effort you have put in for the sake of this committee, I am hereby appointing you… uh… Commander of CAD Research!" he proclaimed, hoping no one would notice his pause as he decided on the name. "From here on out, you will have a position only subservient to Yuusuke and myself, so you will be allowed to order your former colleges to take part in any mission you need help with. I will be relying on you to keep us updated and informed about CADs at all times. So, do you think i can trust you with this?"

For a moment, the girl hesitated. Her shock at the sudden attention giving way to fear at the gravity of the position. Unconsciously, her eyes seemed to glance at the continued replay of the fight between Tatsuya and the older students which they kept constantly running during meetings.

For a moment, her fear doubled.

Then it was replaced with determination.

Her eyes relaxed, breathing calmed, and her brow set her face into an expression Uryu had never seen on the shy, stuttering girl before. Her fists clenched, and she turned to meet Uryu's gaze with almost the same fire he had looked at her with before. In that moment, Uryu knew what her decision would be.

"I'd be honored," Chandra announced with a small bow toward Uryu. Said boy smirked and looked over to meet Yuusuke's gaze, seeing that the other boy was also wearing a proud expression. He turned back to the bowed girl in front of him.

"Glad to have you on board."

* * *

Chandra stood in the center of the room, directly next to Uryu as they talked about their various plans. Over 95% of the plans they tried failed, but the ones they spent a little longer preparing occasionally worked. Chandra always found it a little fun to keep bringing up different ideas and discussing them with the group.

The difference, this time, was that she was so used to standing on the side and being a secondary participant that standing in the middle of the room was nerve-wracking. She almost never had all eyes on her before (or - most likely - on the boy standing next to her), so she had to put extra effort in to keep herself from stuttering.

For a moment she asked herself whether the position was really worth it.

But she knew it was. It had become clear to her the moment she saw the recording again: it was not magic that was bad, magic could be used for great things. But Tatsuya was different than any other child magician his age. He was not dangerous _because_ he was a magician, he was dangerous, and just happened to have magic on top of that.

Chandra's father had always told her to only use her powers in the real world when she was helping people. It was fine to practice at home, but any magic outside of there had to be used to make the world better. She would not be using magic, but Chandra thought she had a duty as a magician to join the fight against Tatsuya.

Well, maybe it was time for her to start fulfilling her position as the Commander of CAD Research. She took a deep breath, swallowed her fear, and stepped forward to gain the group's attention.

"I-uh… I think almost none of you understand much about CADs, so…" clenching her fists, she managed to stop herself from stuttering out of sheer determination "...I think it would be a good idea for some of you to come to my house. I can get a presentation ready or something, but none of your really understand much about CADs, which… I already said, but they could be considered the weaknesses of magicians, so i think they're important.."

Chandra relaxed at the positive response she received, glad she had phrased it the way that she did. A quick glance back showed her Uryu was smiling at her, happy with what she had said.

Chandra smiled as well, "Are any of you free this weekend?"

A large number raised their hands and Uryu had them move to one side of the room, but glared at the side that could not come. Apparently, he believed that everyone who could not come should do something else for the good of the group. Seeing how nervous they became once everyone's eyes were on them, Chandra was hugely grateful she had already proven her loyalty.

"I could- I'm going to a party next week," one of the boys announced to Uryu. "My Mom's making me go, but I think the guest list said the Shiba siblings would be going too. I could try to spread our influence to the people there. I mean, they'll see Tatsuya, and we all know he doesn't really talk to people, so they'll at least accept he's weird."

"Oh!" Chandra suddenly gasped, causing Uryu to casually turn his neck and stare at her. The whole group followed his lead, and soon thirty sets of eyes were carefully staring at her. She rushed to explain.

"My- my Dad asked me if I wanted to go. I said no, but he told me I could always change my mind… uh-so, yes, I also saw Tatsuya and Miyuki's names on the guest list."

"Perfect, then you can go with him. Even if you can't convert anyone to the side of the light, we can at least get a better idea of how people react to us suggesting the idea. Be subtle about it though; the people who have already been corrupted by the conspiracy might need a more delicate process than we've been using."

Chandra jumped slightly, but immediately nodded. Uryu seemed satisfied with her response and allowed the kid who had suggested the idea to move to the group of people who could prove their loyalty.

As soon as he joined their side the boy turned around and smirked at the people who had yet to suggest how they could prove themselves. Chandra could understand, she would have been frozen in fear if Uryu did not like her already and made her stand with the small group. And it did not really matter, because the people in the small group soon were able to think of ways to serve the committee, even if only for the purpose of joining their safe group.

Soon, everyone had figured out what they would do to prove their loyalty to the committee. In hindsight, it seemed like a genius plan that Uryu created; sure it was stressful, but now they would have proven their loyalty. It was a perfect way to motivate them all to support the group, and Chandra felt her awe of Uryu multiply as a result.

* * *

"So- uh- sorry, what's your name?" Chandra asked the other committee member attending the party. The two of them had agreed to meet up beforehand and go to the party together, just to be sure they could find each other. Besides, while her presentation had gone well, Chandra was even more worried about this spy part of her loyalty test. It was best to be as prepared as she possibly could be.

"Oh, I'm Asahi… written as morning sunrise. You're Chandra, right?"

"Ah, yeah. It's not super Japanese, but my parents really like the name. They travel a lot for their work with CADs, so they wanted a name that could show that… I think."

Asahi nodded at her as they walked up the last few steps to the house, but hesitated inches away from the door.  
"Asahi?"

"...Do we have a plan for how we're going to convince someone to join us against Tatsuya? I know I suggested it, but I was really just going to say anything to make it happen. And it's a birthday party for someone outside the group, so there'll be a lot of people who have never even met Tatsuya before and have no reason to think badly of him…"

"Honestly, this is more Uryu's thing than anyone else. He and Yuusuke are the ones that inspire the rest of us, so I was mostly planning on trying to copy what they do…. They said we're supposed to be subtle and just tell them how people react to our methods, so maybe we won't actually have to do anything and it'll all work out. I-I don't know… if we really need to we could just try approaching people and starting off a conversation by asking what they think of Tatsuya…."

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought. We'll just… let whatever happens happen and hope for the best?"

Making quick eye contact, the two middle school students cringed at their equally obvious nervousness, then shakily opened the door to the party.

Balloons covered the ceiling and glitter littered the floor, causing an explosion of color that momentarily shut down the brains of the committee members. The loud music playing could barely be heard over all the noise in the room, and Chandra found herself wishing she could use her CAD to shut it off.

Though, like all magicians her age, she was more likely to blow it up trying, so maybe it was all for the best that she left it at home.

Once their eyes and ears had adapted to the sensory overload, the two students began looking around the room for their target. It was, like always, unnaturally easy to find Miyuki:

In the center of the room, there was a large crowd of people who circled around and stared at a single girl; all eyes on her regardless of who was speaking at the time. The boy next to Chandra blushed, and she could not help but agree; Miyuki's white dress with decorations resembling frost made her look even more beautiful than usual.

But Miyuki was always easy to find, the hard part would be-

Asahi suddenly tapped her shoulder, point to a corner of the room with a disbelieving expression. Chandra followed his gaze, and her jaw unconsciously dropped too.

There was Tatsuya, standing hidden in a corner as expected. But it was not entirely right, because he was not hiding, he was talking to people. Tatsuya never had problems speaking, but when forced to go to something like this he would usually (from what they had observed in the past few months) stand by himself or talk to an adult. Not… have a joking conversation with a boy and girl and somehow seeming to be happy speaking with them.

Chandra, curious, pulled Asahi along with her and walked through the crowd to Tatsuya. She was sure Uryu would be interested in hearing about this.

"Hi, Tatsuya!" Chandra called over the volume of the music once they had gotten close enough. Said boy paused in whatever he had been about to say and turned toward her with a calm-but-somehow-not-uninviting smile.

"Hello… it's Chandra, right? And Asahi?"

Chandra wanted to ask how he would know their names, but figured they were a classmates of his (the reasonable explanation) and Tatsuya probably just knew everything (the more likely one).

"Yes, I…. It's nice to see a familiar face here."

"Yeah," Asahi added, then turned to the two kids who had been standing with Tatsuya. "I don't think I recognize you two though, do you go to our school?"

"No, my brother and I are just family friends of the parents, so we were expected to come."

"Same, it's mainly my parents who wanted me to come, and I heard it was the same for Chandra, my friend here."

Chandra smiled at them, but had trouble keeping it up as the silence soon stretched into awkward. After a few seconds Chandra started to panic, realizing she had no plan for this beyond walking over. Making eye contact with Asahi, they realized neither of them knew what to say to continue the conversation-

"Actually, these two might know it better than I do," Tatsuya said to the siblings, then looked at Chandra and Asahi. "We had just been talking about how, with the end of the year approaching, we might have to worry about some kind of end-of-the-year test now that we're in middle school. Do either of you have any ideas on that?"

For a moment, both members were silent in shock. Tatsuya was fine with answering questions or giving a polite greeting, but their observations showed that he was never the one _asking_ questions. At this moment, he was actually being more socially friendly than both Asahi and Chandra, the two normal humans.  
"...Ah, yeah. I heard that we would have an essay in our English class, and maybe something in math, but not a test for all of them… what did you hear?"

One of the siblings answered, "We'd heard something similar. I think they're going to do about the same thing at our school, so it's probably right. Do you think it'll depend on the teacher?"

"N-no," Chandra played with her hair in an effort to calm down. "I think I heard that it was going to be a set of requirements that everyone in the school would have, though that might just be our district."

And from there the conversation continued, appearing to an outsider like a normal discussion between classmates and a few new friends. Chandra and Asahi knew better though, as in that one conversation they heard Tatsuya speak more than he had at every other conversation the committee had studies combined. He was acting like… a normal kid their age.

At one point during the talk, Asahi leaned over and whisper-yelled into Chandra's ear, "Do you think Tatsuya's been abducted by aliens?"

Chandra had whispered back, "I don't think the aliens would have stood a chance."

The fact that neither of them treated that like a joke was a new level of depressing. Chandra made a mental note to call Uryu and get him to talk her through the weirdness when the party was over.

Then things got even stranger.

The whole class had seen how differently Miyuki was acting towards Tatsuya (and the rest of the school knew about it through rumors), but, for some reason, Chandra had been caught completely by surprise when their small group was suddenly joined by the massive following Miyuki had gathered.

"Am I seeing things?"

"Huh? Oh- uh- I… I don't think so…. Do you also see Tatsuya and Miyuki as the center of attention with twenty to thirty people focusing on them?"

"Yeah…"

"Then we're either both seeing things or that's what's happening."

Sure, it would not have been unexpected if Tatsuya was just a normal kid, but that was the point: he was not. Tatsuya was a terrifying weapon of a magician who was capable of easily taking down trained adults (well, teenagers at least) and possibly doing much more. He was from a different world than the normal human students surrounding him, why was _he_ the person everyone at the party was connecting to?

And yet ,that was exactly what the two loyal committee members were watching.

Asahi, apparently having seen everything he needed to, tapped Chandra on the shoulder and pulled her over to talk to the siblings they had been with earlier. From what Chandra remembered, Asahi had been brought into the group because he was a friend of Yuusuke's, so she hoped he would be better at convincing people to join their cause than she would be.

"Hey, guess our little group just got a lot bigger."

One of the siblings looked over at Asahi's words and gave an embarrassed shrug and nod, "Yeah. Though they seem to be mostly interested in talking to Tatsuya. I guess that's what happens when you have a popular sister. Is it like this at every party he goes to?"

"...Uh, no. No, he's usually more for one-on-one sorta of things."

The siblings nodded casually, and Asahi felt his determination sharpen.

"So, what do you think of Tatsuya?"

"Hm? Well, he seems nice. He's confident and pretty smart, so I think I like him. Why?" The sister nodded in agreement, but Chandra frowned. It would be hard to keep pressing without coming across as bullies, so Asahi would have to be extra careful with how he approached the topic.

"Well, to be honest we don't really know him all that well. He's a bit of a loner at school, and tends to give off an impression of being untouchable because he's so good at everything."

"And dangerous," Chandra could not help but whisper. Luckily, only Asahi seemed to have heard her, and he gave her a brief, understanding look when he did.

The siblings glanced over at the massive crowd which had formed around Tatsuya and raised an eyebrow.

Chandra also glanced over, and had to admit he definitely did not give off the impression of someone who was a loner or awkward or even untouchable. He seemed like a slightly less intense form of the social butterfly his sister embodied, and Chandra could tell the siblings believed exactly what they saw.

"Do you two have something… against him?" the brother asked, and Chandra mentally panicked. It would figure that the first time she tried to convince someone of joining them would also be the time Tatsuya stepped up his social game. And, looking as Asahi's flustered and uncertain expression, she could see she would not be getting any help. The nervous butterflies in her stomach sent terrified shocks through the rest of her body and froze her where she stood.

She was definitely bringing Uryu or Yuusuke next time she had to do this.

"No, we don't have any problems with him," Chandra lied with a shaky smile. "I-I'm not really his friend, but I'm a friend of his sister, the girl over there... We're really just a little confused since we've been to parties with him before and he's always been more of a wallflower and it seemed a bit weird he was with his sister and we were curious and stuff…. But from what you said, I guess he's acting normally other than that."

Though still suspicious, the siblings seemed to accept her explanation and Chandra relaxed. Now that she had restored the status quo, it would probably be time to dig a little deeper.

 _"Be careful. Don't seem overly-invested. Casually bring it up."_

Right. Uryu had given her advice. He had trusted her enough to give her the position of Commander of CAD Research. This investigation might have had little to do with CADs, but it was still her job. She owed it to Uryu for everything he had given her and for being generous enough to give her advice. It would be wrong to take all his help and trust and throw it away just because her usual nervousness was back.

"S-so, um, on another topic… um… W-what do you think about magicians?"

Chandra's flawlessly casual change of topic seemed to catch them off guard for a moment, and the siblings shared a look of confusion before the sister spoke.

"I… I guess they're fine. My family doesn't have any magicians, but they're like people trained to use a specific tool to protect our country, right? I wouldn't want to be a magician and have to go to war, but i guess I'm grateful that they do that for us. They're pretty much special forces soldiers."

After having spent so much time listening to the committee speak in hate and fear of magicians (when Tatsuya was really the only scary one), it was nice to hear positive things about people like her. Still, Chandra had a duty to Uryu and the cause to press them further on the subject and convince them to join.

"I-I agree with that on, um, most of them," Chandra scowled briefly at her stutter, but power through regardless. "But I also think there are some magicians who are able to do things no one should be able to. I- have you seen the Ichijo family's special magic called 'rupture' before? It just seems like some of them are too much power in a single person."

"...I… yeah, I think I saw a clip after the invasion of Sado. You know, since the kid they're calling the 'Crimson Prince' helped out... " the brother hesitated, "But, you know, he was defending our country… right?"

"Maybe, but I don't really approve of what some magician's families do," Asahi added, finally snapping out of him embarrassment. "I don't like how some of them train children to fight at a young age. There's not really a good reason to use child soldiers-especially when we're not at war."

Chandra had no idea how common it was for children to be trained in combat rather than just magic, but Tatsuya and the Prince proved beyond doubt that some of them did.

The siblings thought their points over for a moment, before the sister shrugged. "I guess. I think whatever top-secret stuff the magicians do is probably illegal though, so it doesn't affect us much. As long as we spend time with people who won't break the law, we should be good."

Her naive view of life was, unfortunately, more than enough to crush Chandra's spirits. Based off how Tatsuya had acted earlier, there was pretty much no chance of convincing them that Tatsuya was a monster who needed to be dealt with. And that made no sense; Tatsuya had no reason to suddenly change his behavior when it came to interacting with the people around him. She did not understand why he was suddenly different.

Well, they had tried. At least Tatsuya had not found out their real goal.

* * *

Tatsuya nodded along with the words of another party guest, barely paying them any attention. It was mostly useless ramble regarding school, how cute his sister was, and recent events, so he could spit his concentration between the conversation and focusing on the four he had been talking to before Miyuki came to get him.

Apparently, Chandra and Asahi were members of Uryu's group trying to convince them he was not to be trusted. In some ways, that was actually beneficial; he could see how well his guardian training had prepared him for common social interaction and making a small but overall positive impression.

And, as it turned out, he had done well. The siblings were more distrustful of Chandra and Asahi than they were of him and Miyuki, so his sister would not feel any backlash from it.

Their conversation continued, and Tatsuya was mostly able to keep any outside viewer from having no idea he was listening in. He did, however, falter at one point: the Ichijo family.

Not only was concern regarding a family of the Ten Master Clans a possible lead to his origin, but their fear was regarding the magic those families were able to release. After Okinawa, Tatsuya knew even the Crimson Prince of the Ichijou would seem harmless in comparison to his magic.

How much danger would Miyuki be in if the general public found out about material burst?

He promised himself he would never find out.

Then the description of child soldiers was mentioned, and Tatsuya found himself conflicted. It was true that he firmly supported the family's decision to not make Miyuki a child soldier, but he also was aware of the facts. Children like himself and the Crimson Prince were born with enough power and combat ability to be considered on a different plane than even adult magicians. The only reason the invasion of the great Asian alliance had been stopped was _because_ their families had turned them into child soldiers, so it could not be all bad.

But, glancing at Miyuki out of the corner of his eye, Tatsuya knew he could never allow the same thing to happen to her. Powerful she may be, but he refused to allow her to lose the innocence she maintained even after the battle of Okinawa.

Turning back to the crowd around him, Tatsuya answered a question he had been asked with a calm smile. It was surprisingly difficult for him to simultaneously do his work and talk to the people around him. Besides, even now he was mostly just following Miyuki's example and copying some of her mannerisms to get people to genuinely like him.

It was obvious he had neglected to train many skills which were vital to Miyuki's continued protection. It seemed he would need to focus on that during training in the coming months.

Besides, the children working under Uryu were also becoming more daring and more subtle- a dangerous combination. He would have to talk to his aunt about them soon.

* * *

"All present and accounted for?" Uryu asked Yuusuke from his position on his throne. Said throne was his usual seat at the kitchen table, but if you sit with enough confidence (or arrogance) anything can become a throne.

Yuusuke made a quick head count of the people their call connected to and nodded, allowing Uryu to start the meeting. Smirking, Uryu sat up and made a quick scan of the people present, his eyes finally landing on Chandra.

"Commander of CAD Research!" she jumped slightly, "You said you had a report, what did you discover?"

"Um-we…" she took a deep breath. "I've discovered a few things. So, um, on my trip with Asahi we found something strange. It was at the party we were both attempting to gain recruits at, but Tatsuya -er, the subject- showed the same odd behavior that we had seen when he returned from Okinawa."

Uryu raised an eyebrow and motioned for her to continue. That was potentially interesting enough for him to ignore her slip of of referring to "the subject" as Tatsuya despite them all agreeing to only call him by that title.

"Ta-the subject was really social. He wasn't quite at Miyuki's level, but the two of them got a little crowd around them during the party and he was actively talking to other people. And we-we tried to get a pair of siblings to agree with our cause, but they had talked to the subject and said they thought he was normal. They didn't even think he gave off the feeling of being someone unapproachable like we all did."

Uryu leaned forward slightly in his throne and saw Yuusuke scrunch his brow in thought. They were all confused; Tatsuya had no reason to pretend to be normal. He was a monster who could kill them all in seconds, why would he have any motivation to get close to normal people?

"We also talked to them about magic, right?" Asahi added, prompting everyone to look to him to continue. "We just sorta asked them what they thought. They didn't have any problems with magic and thought it was like having a license to use a weapon for the country that _normal_ people didn't have-"

"Well, _normal_ magicians aren't anywhere near as scary as Tatsuya!"

The entire group turned their gaze towards Chandra's box on their shared call and Uryu felt his jaw drop slightly. Not only had Chandra raised her voice, but there was no stutter in her words. Chandra blushed at her outburst and looked down, but her words still echoed through the screen.

"Explain, Commander."

Jumping again at Uryu's sudden request, Chandra took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "Most magicians don't have the ability to be all that dangerous -especially children. The only time I've ever heard of a child in combat was during the recent invasion over the break with the Ichijo family. They're the ones who use- um- rupture, I think. Anyways, it's only families like the Ten Master Clans who use child soldiers, so maybe Tatsuya's in one of those branch families, but… um… anyways, magic can be scary, but most of the things it can do can be done by a normal person with a tool. Only a few families are really scary. The prodigies at the magic high schools- usually from the Ten Master Clans- are the only ones who can really hurt a large number of people. That's less than one percent of all magicians."

That might have been the most Uryu had ever heard Chandra speak. His lips quirked up is a slightly proud smile, and he gave her a single nod.

"Well, as a head of research in magic, I'll trust your opinion on that. We'll agree that Tatsuya's the main one we need to look out for with the possible addition of the _Crimson Prince,_ " Uryu smirked, liking the idea of having an actual enemy named that. "So Tat- the subject was becoming close to a bunch of civilians during the party?"

"It's like what we decided at school, isn't it?" Yuusuke, his loyal Second-in-Command asked. "He needs to be dealt with before he gets used to pretending to be human."

"Then isn't that why he's doing it?" a boy asked the group. "We can't get any more people to join us if they're not scared of him, so maybe he's removing the people we might have been able to use as allies."

"Of course," Uryu whispered. "It's so obvious when it's put like that! He's gaining his own allies and getting rid of what we can use to fight him with! That's great!"

"Um… how is that great?" Chandra asked, and a majority of the committee also had confused expressions. Uryu resisted the urge to sigh; it was hard being the only intelligent member of the group.

" _Because_ that means he sees us as a threat! He's taking us seriously and is actually concerned about what we'll be able to do! That proves he's not unbeatable!"

In sync, every member of the committee allowed a dangerous smirk to fall on their faces, pride flowing through their being. It seemed group moral was at an all time high, and Uryu briefly glanced at the screen replaying the video of Tatsuya's battle with the high school students.. Determination surged through him.

"Alright. I thought of this a while ago, but it didn't seem right to bring up until now. I trust all of you, but if we keep adding more people, we might eventually add someone who is a traitor to our cause. I'll bring a piece of paper to school, and I want all of you to sign your names so that we can prove you were involved in the process and weren't innocent. That way, no one will be able to desert our cause or turn us over to the adults later."

Hesitation appeared on the faces of every member, and Uryu briefly wondered if he was pushing too strongly. It would be the end of the operation if they backed out now.

"I-I'll do it," Chandra took a deep breath, then looked Uryu directly in his eyes. "I trust you."

"Er, yeah," Asahi nodded hesitantly, "I will too."

"And me," Yuusuke agreed. Soon the entire committee was on board all agreeing to sign their names when he brought the paper to school the next day.

Something about the scene managed to remind Uryu of a scene from a movie he loved, where the hero gave a motivational speech before the people he had helped agreed with his cause. It was such a cliche idea, but it was always the hero standing up for what was right that caused it.

That made him smile; he already knew of course, but it was nice to have confirmation he was doing the right thing in going against Tatsuya- the subject. Obviously they were heroes working together to take down the monster.

Uryu looked over the group of people before him and smirked. Things were finally coming together.

* * *

Tatsuya took a deep breath, reminding himself that Miyuki was with the family. They would never hurt her, and he would be able to run over and protect her if anything happened. Besides, his sister loved spending time with the family and the family loved doting on her, who was he to take that experience away from her?

The door to Maya's room stood in front of him like an unclimbable mountain. Despite his mind crushing the emotions of fear regarding his aunt, he had never been able to speak to her without hesitating. She cared for him- loved him- but was also powerful enough to destroy everything he held dear.

Far too little of her affection applied to Miyuki.

He shook his head, clearing those thoughts away. His aunt may have little actual care for Miyuki, but she also had no reason to hurt the perfect heir to her family and strongest chain on Tatsuya. If Miyuki was gone, Tatsuya might choose to simply destroy the planet, and, while he doubted she would mind that much, there was no reason for Maya to force that to happen quite yet. He had done this before, there was no reason for him to _always_ feel scared when he was about to speak with her. It would go just like last time, it was fine. Miyuki was safe with the family, it was fine.

Tatsuya forced himself to repeat that as he calmed his shaking nerves and forced himself to open the door. Looking into the dark office of the head of the Yotsuba family, Tatsuya saw her staring up unsurprised. She had probably been expecting him for some time now.

He took a calming breath in.

"I apologise," a deep bow, "Do you have a moment to speak?"

"For my darling nephew? Always."

Tatsuya stepped in and closed the door behind himself, allowing Maya's guards to dismiss themselves through the secret passages connected to the room. He tensed slightly as Maya activated her CAD, but relaxed as elemental sight revealed she was simply keeping anyone outside the room from listening in.

He was far too jumpy.

Grateful for the privacy, Tatsuya gave her another light bow resolutely ignored the way his expected respect seemed to amuse Maya infinitely more when he was the one giving it.

"I have several concerns about the children who… on whom I lost control on and frightened. Their plans are becoming more thought out and intricate, while still maintaining their childish disregard for rules. I do not believe they have directly broken the law yet, but I will admit to growing slightly concerned over their blatant attempts to make me snap. Being more social and friendly has helped, so I will continue on this, but I would appreciate more clear limitations on what I am not allowed to do to them."

"Yes, they certainly don't seem to be growing bored with your lack of reaction. If anything, it seems to simply motivate them to try harder. I can see how that would be a problem for you."

If Tatsuya had been anyone else, he probably would have glared at her completely-fake-and-not-at-all-helpful act of sympathy. Luckily, he was emotionally controlled by magic and trained by the Yotsuba, so he managed to avoid reacting to her in any concerning way.

Though, if the look she sent him was any indication, she had a pretty good idea of what he had just thought. After all, she might have been the only person in the world, who understood how the emotional depressant felt at all times.

"I have a bit of trouble believing this would make you so worried though. Is there anything else about this that you've somehow neglected to inform me of?"

"...They have done some research. When they brought up the topic of child magicians to two people they wanted to recruit, they mentioned the Ichijo family's Crimson Prince. If they're looking into everything this deeply, then there is a concern their knowledge of the Ten Master Clans will lead to them connecting us- if simply out of their fear of me and the family's reputation. Feeling a kid their age can beat an army may also caused them to childishly assume I am Ooguro Ryuuya."

"But not incorrectly," Maya reminded with a smirk. "Oh dear, this new generation is going to be the most dangerous and powerful group of magicians yet. And the civilians seem to be even more ambitious than they used to be. Though, there are several flaws in their arguments. After all, while you may be similar, you are fundamentally different in structure to the Ichijou boy."

"...I'm sorry?"

"He will probably become the next head of his family. You may as well, but if so it would be largely unwilling," Maya answered, only leaving him with more questions. "He was trained from a young age to use magic to attack and destroy, you were mostly trained to learn how to restrict your own power. He may one day go around leading armies, while you would have no need to go into battle with anyone else. He was born to be trained into a perfect soldier, you were born the perfect weapon."

Tatsuya said nothing in response, unable to argue with her assessment. Being degraded to an object may have been callous, but, going by the facts of his birth, it was not entirely inaccurate.

"I suppose it could be possible for them to be extremely lucky and manage to get your control to slip again. If such a time comes, I will supply you with a mental magician who can scramble their minds at your request. Should their plans go far enough as to truly endanger Miyuki, you can use systematic magic or decomposition to protect her. Material burst and regrowth, however, are off limits except in the most dire situations. In exchange, I don't suppose you would be willing to help your generous aunt out with a few jobs, would you dear?"

"Of course."

Coming from _her_ , 'jobs' was equal to 'assassinations'. He was still occasionally asked (told) to do them, but by being Miyuki's guardian he usually prioritized her safety over jobs another magician could do. If Maya asked him, Tatsuya correctly assumed that while the jobs could be completed by an ordinary magician, _they_ would probably lose a limb in the process. For truly dangerous assignments, Tatsuya could be the best soldier in the world. Regrowth made sure of that.

"Wonderful. Then I'll set aside a magician for you, and have Hayama send you the information on the jobs I'd like you to do."

"Appreciated."

With another bow, Tatsuya left the room, hating how this interaction with her ended up playing out exactly like their last one did. A game was always being played between them, and Maya was always the one in control. Tatsuya was too inexperienced- had too few cards to play- was too young- was too _weak_ to do anything against her.

Sometimes he felt like everything in his life was one step away from falling apart.

* * *

Uryu doodled on his desk while the teacher lectured in the front of the classroom. It had been a month since he got the committee members to sign his paper, but they had made very little progress since then. Chandra had tried teaching them all more about CADs, but it was a little boring so they agreed to just ask her whenever they had a question. She was doing a good job being their personal library though, so no one complained.

Meanwhile, Tatsuya had become even better with his act. He was not usually the center of attention, but he had tried to create some bonds and ended up with a few friends who felt they personally knew him. He was still by far the best at everything he tried, but he did not seem so untouchable anymore.

Even Uryu was starting to doubt that he was actually a magician.

The whole group knew without a doubt that Tatsuya was strong, but none had seen him directly perform magic. If they could force him to, of course, then that problem would be solved. The problem was something else entirely: he was far too careful. Tatsuya had worked hard on perfecting his act, and other than directly threatening Miyuki the group could not think of anything to make him show his power.

"...even after the new laws were signed, magicians were still considered by the general public to be little more than weapons…" the teacher's voice mumbled from the front of the classroom. Just like the teacher's first lesson after break, Uryu's class continued to tune him out.

Surely, if Tatsuya was a magician, he would know all about using magic. Their Commander of CAD Research (who would be pretty much useless if Tatsuya was not actually a magician, come to think of it) said that any magician who could be considered a threat would have extensive knowledge of CADs. The recent increase in interest of CADs due to Taurus Silver's highly successful first release made that even more likely.

There was only a question of if they could trick that sort of information out of him.

"...conferences were held, but only a few people really cared. Instead, most focus was on the transition from ancient magic to modern magic…"

The committee might be able to get information if it was brought up during class, but Uryu did not want to make a big deal out of it and let the unrelated 'civilians' start suspecting them. The adults were already brainwashed by the conspiracy and could not trusted, so it would be best if they kept as few people from finding out as possible. He would just need something that could lead into the subject and make the change of topic seem genuine.

"...However, that all changed when, with the end of the war, much more work was put into the production of CADs, or Casting Assistant Devices, for other purposes-"

Bingo! Uryu's hand shot into the air, causing the half-asleep students next to him to jump in surprise. The teacher, who seemed to be falling asleep while _giving_ the lecture, blinked at his hand a few times before waking up more and calling on him.

"What was the new thing I heard on the news about CADs? Every chanel was talking for forever about how Taurus Silver was able to speed up the casting process when it's the same spell, but that doesn't seem like it makes sense. I mean, it's still the same magician doing the stuff, right? How can the device be faster without the magician getting any better? Isn't that like shoes making someone twenty times faster?"

"Oh, uh…" the teacher looked around, frazzled, and more awake than Uryu had ever seen him before. "Well… I'm not an expert on making CADs… but I think the Loop Cast System lets you do the… same spell… again…?"

It was painfully obvious to the entire class that the teacher was asking more than telling them. Just as Uryu became worried his plan would fail, the holy goddess herself, _Miyuki Shiba_ , raised her hand.

"From what I understand, the Loop Cast System allows the user to cast a spell again without having to restart it from the beginning each time. That way, when a magician wants to repeatedly cast the same spell, they are able to greatly shorten the casting speed and multiply their combat ability… though I'm not an expert on it. My brother is though, he'd be able to tell you all about it. Right, Onii-sama?"

While the proud smile on her face confused Uryu, the angel had worked her magic and put Tatsuya in a position to reveal his intelligence. Uryu did not even have to really do anything! She was perfect!

Tatsuya looked hesitant for a moment, then made eye contact with Miyuki. His sister's brilliant, proud smile and hopeful eyes seemed to destroy any argument against the idea he might have had, causing him to sigh.

Out of the corner of his eye, Uryu saw Chandra take out a notebook and pencil to write.

"...Miyuki's right. The Loop Cast System allows the user to, as she said, skip the step of restarting the spell for casting, provided it is the same activation sequence. The execution mode of the CAD's magic calculation area- the mental part of a magician's magic- is given a copying power with the last parts of the activation sequence. This allows the magician to- theoretically- continue envocing the same magic endlessly. The reason it was, as Uryu said, talked about 'forever' is because it is a new factor that will completely change the game for magicians who fight each other. One of the formerly-established rules and limitations was erased, so every magician is worried about how this will shift the world's power balance."

Tatsuya glanced at his sister, but relaxed at seeing the sheer amount of joy beaming off of her smile. While those two were lost in their own little world, the rest of the class stared at Tatsuya in shock; it was so much easier to understand when he phrased it like that!

Making eye contact with Yuusuke, Uryu saw that his second in command had realized the same thing he just did: they did not have to hurt Miyuki, she could get Tatsuya to act in other ways too.

"Uh, yes," the teacher's shock had worn off, so he returned to mumbling. "And if that answers your question, we'll be returning to the lesson now… as the CADs were given a broader focus, companies like the FLT we just mentioned started to form…"

Now that the interesting part of the lesson was over, students either adjusted themselves to fall asleep again, or acted like Chandra and kept their attention on the notes they had just taken about Taurus Silver's creation. (Well, Tatsuya listened to the teacher, but Uryu was only counting human classmates, so he did not count).

Taking a quick glance back at Miyuki again, Uryu briefly wondered why the subject of Taurus Silver's success made her look so embarrassed and proud at the same time. It seemed a bit much, even if she was a magician. Or maybe, as a magician, she had some sort of close connection to Taurus Silver's true identity. The man was basically a celebrity, but they could have met each other at a conference before and he could have been an acquaintance of her parents. That would be weird.

Uryu shrugged to himself, deciding to simply bring it up at the next meeting to see if anyone had any ideas.

* * *

After the classroom had mostly emptied out, Yuusuke and Chandra stayed behind a moment longer. The official excuses they told the civilians were that Yuusuke would be walking to his friend's house later, while Chandra's parents had work with all the new buzz about Taurus Silver. Unofficially, they were on a mission. Uryu had ordered his most "trusted officials" to pay special attention to the Shiba siblings as they began to walk home.

For all that they had apparently become trusted officials in the months the committee had been active, the class's oldest boy and shy stutterer had never really talked to each other without Uryu between them. They had agreed when Uryu asked, but it was only now that they realized they had no idea how to interact with the other.

"I-um, would… do you think we should record what we see?... Or is that too stalker-ish?"

Yuusuke shrugged, "It's kinda our job to be stalkers now."

Smiling slightly, Chandra found she could not argue with what he had said. The two of them pulled out their electronics and pressed film, only moving once they were sure the recording had started.

It was a scene right out of a spy movie: they hid behind walls until they were sure no one was there and then ran to the next cover, slowly making their way the direction Tatsuya and Miyuki went. A nearby PE teacher watched them from afar, but soon realized the children were playing 'spy' and ignored them.

Soon, the pair found the path the siblings were taking and changed tactics. It was an open street, there was no cover for them to hide behind. Instead, they each pulled out a hat and sunglasses, following the siblings while watching from afar. With the sunglasses, they were confident no one would realize they were watching.

* * *

As it turned out, Tatsuya did, but he was so used to other people staring at or taking pictures of Miyuki that- once he noticed the lack of malicious intent -he ignored them.

Meanwhile, Miyuki was practically skipping down the street out of happiness. She was being more careful with how she interacted with her classmates, but she was overjoyed at the idea that she got to brag about her brother, even if no one knew. She was so happy, she had told her designated driver that she wanted to walk home instead, determined to make the trip by skipping home. Her mood seemed infectious, and made Tatsuya happy too.

Unfortunately, in her happiness, Miyuki also became slightly careless. The lights changed to pedestrian walking, so Miyuki skipped across the street ahead of Tatsuya. She skipped, not noticing the car speeding towards her from the right.

The sound grabbed her attention. She turned, and froze as the bright headlights of the car shined directly on her, temporarily blinding. Time slowed down, and Miyuki watched as the drivers face contorted into sudden horror. He slammed on the brake, the car skidded towards Miyuki. Wind rushed past. Background noise was drowned out by the screeching tires. The towering vehicle approached her still-frozen form.

Miyuki blinked and opened her eyes, seeing she was suddenly in her brother's arms on the opposite sidewalk. Turning around, she saw the car skid to a stop, the driver look around in confusion, then rub his eyes and continue to drive.

" _Idiot_!" Tatsuya growled with so much hate that Miyuki froze. He sounded exactly like he had at Okinawa, and the terrifying expression on his face brought forth a gallery of unpleasant memories. Even as he muttered about the driving laws and stupid, careless, _idiotic_ drivers he continued to wrap his arms around her tightly. Despite being the victim of the near-accident, Miyuki wrapped her arms around her brother, hoping to calm his nerves. The slight tremble in his body stopped, and, with a calm breath, he relaxed.

Miyuki stepped back and looked up at her brother in confusion, "Onii-sama. How did you do that? It was different than what you did at Okinawa, right?'

A few more breaths calmed Tatsuya down, until he finally gave her a shaky smile and nod.

"Y-yeah. Yes, it was. Good job realizing that." He patted her head, and the last tremble in his body left. "That was acceleration magic using a technique called 'flash cast'. I'm sure you've heard of it in your lessons before, it's a Yotsuba family secret."

"I have! It's instant magic, right? A 'Single Systematic Magic Casting Technique'."

"Pretty much. It's about carving a magic sequence into your brain so that you don't need to send a request and receive the sequence from a CAD. It cuts down the time dramatically."

"Amazing…"

And it was. Her 'Onii-sama' could do anything! She doubted even the most skilled magicians would have been able to save her without a scratch in that amount of time. Now that the adrenaline had left her system, she could see that there had never been any reason for her to freeze; her brother would always keep her safe.

Smiling, Miyuki stood up and activated her CAD, using a new trick she had learned to clear away the dirt which had gotten on their clothes during the scuffle.

She then stepped back and looked at her work, beaming in pride. Tatsuya glanced down as well- first in surprise, then in a calm gratitude. He ruffled her hair again.

"Always taking care of me, aren't you?"

"Isn't that the little sister's job? Besides, you take care of me too!"

The pair of siblings continued to smile as they turned, continuing their walk home, not noticing the two hat-and-sunglass wearing kids staring in shock behind them.

* * *

Uryu watched the screen before him with surprise he knew was mirrored on the faces of everyone present. Of course, it was far from illegal to use magic in public- some high schoolers used it to get to school every day. Even so, it was one thing to have magic be an expected part of the world even when they could not use it.

It was another thing to see their classmates defy the laws of physics at a whim.

Okay, maybe saving his sister from getting run over by a car could not be described as "at a whim," but it was still terrifying. The cameras were unable to hear what was said after Tatsuya moved (teleported?) Miyuki to the opposite sidewalk, but judging from his expression it was not anything flattering for the driver.

And then Miyuki had pulled out a rectangular object Uryu vaguely recognized as the thing the nice man who Tatsuya scared away had. A CAD.

She had cleaned their clothes and the siblings had continued their walk home, not a care in the world. Now, Uryu was obviously grateful Tatsuya allowed an angel to continue gracing the world with her presence, but that did not stop his slight fear at the power Tatsuya seemed to wield at his fingertips.

The video ended, but no one in the committee made a sound. There was nothing they could really say. What was the appropriate reaction to realizing your classmate had almost _died_ , but been saved by a monster who was even more terrifying than they had originally thought?

No, he was the leader, it was Uryu's job to know what to say.

"...Chandra," she once again jumped at his words, but turned to look at him regardless. "What is… what is your take on this, Commander of CAD Research?"

"I… it's hard to say. I've watched this clip several times, but it almost… it almost looks like Tatsuya was able to… well, Miyuki definitely used a CAD. I recognized it as one of the ones FLT produces."

"And what about Tatsuya?"

"It… it almost seemed like he didn't need a CAD to do what he did." There was a tense silence as her words echoed through the room, freezing everyone where they stood.

For a moment even Uryu had trouble breathing, hearing that the one surefire weakness of a magician may not apply. Chandra noticed their panic and rushed to explain.

"But-sorry- of course that's completely impossible. Very talented magicians can use small bits of magic without a CAD, but that would be really, _really_ slow. Which is… well… um, completely impossible given the time frame Tatsuya was working with. They have to figure out the sequence while they're casting, so it's pretty much useless against an opponent with a CAD. I-It seems like maybe he has a specialized CAD that let him do that. Probably hidden or really, really small…. Yeah."

Despite her reassurance, dread permeated the atmosphere and made the weight on their shoulders grow even heavier. They were up against a magician, yes, but Tatsuya was a hundred time more dangerous than a normal one. That realization was born mostly of childish fear, but held tight on their minds.

Little did they know how right they were.


	4. Chapter 4

In the calm silence of night, Mion tiptoed through her house and placed her blade on the ground. Kendo club had kept her unusually late, so she hoped her brother had remembered to eat the meal she had put in the fridge. If not, they could probably just eat the food for dinner the next day.

That day, actually, as it seemed to be past midnight.

She really, really, _really_ hoped her brother was in bed. Making a mental note to never agree to go to a tournament that was a three - hour - drive again, Mion quietly crept through the house to check on her brother. As she peaked through a small crack in the door she was frozen by the sounds she heard.

Okay, good news: Uryu was asleep.

Bad news: he was having a nightmare. Again.

Mion honestly had no idea what was causing them, but, recently, he had been having them more regularly than she was comfortable with. It was times like this that she wished their parents would come home more often; they would probably know what to do.

Or not, given that they barely knew Uryu anymore with how often they were away.

Shaking away her lingering bitterness, Mion quietly entered the room and knelt down next to her brother's bed. For a moment, she froze - unable to decide between waking him up or humming him back to sleep. Eventually, she started to calmly brush Uryu's hair from his eyes and calmly ease him awake.

"Uryu…" she whispered, "Shhhhh. It's okay. Can you wake up for me?"

Slowly, Uryu blinked his eyes open and wiped the traces of tears from his cheeks. She really, honestly and truly had no idea how to deal with her brother when he was like this. Irresponsibility she could scold, anger she could disiplin, laziness she could motivate, excitement she could return, happiness she could encourage - but fear?

She was woefully unprepared to deal with that.

"...How do you feel?" she finally settled on asking. Her brother spent a few more seconds blinking - whether for the sleep in his eyes or the tears, she could not tell - before scowling up at her with resilient determination.

"Fine."

"Mmhm."

His glare sharpened and Mion hid the small amount of glee she felt at being able to annoy him over such a simple response. She shook her head, trying to refocus her mind and be a somewhat -acceptable big sister to her teary little brother.

"So, do… do you want to… talk about-"

"No."

There went plan one. Mion vaguely felt she remembered hearing talking about it helped, but it was almost 1:00 am and her patience had just about run dry.

"Mmhm…. Are you _sure_ you want-"

"Yes."

"...Okaaaay…. Then maybe I'll just… go to my room-"

"Bye."

"...Right…. Come to me if you need anythi-"

"Fine."

Well, that had been a productive conversation.

Mion stood up and left her brother's room, lost in thought until she collapsed onto her bed. How was she supposed to know what to do to help him if he would not tell her anything? Sure, she did not like him complaining to her about the harmless, nice kids at his school who bothered him, but there was no way those kids would be able to cause nightmares like the ones he was having.

She ran a frustrated hand through her hair and looked up at her ceiling. When she grew up, she knew she was never, ever, _ever_ going to have kids.

* * *

Miyuki woke up, eyes as bright as the morning sun behind her. Ever since learning the truth about her brother at Okinawa, every day had seemed brighter than the last. After all, everything in her life had become nearly - perfect after the trip.

Except for Honami.

Miyuki frantically shook her head, ignoring the dangerous thought. She had been raised her whole life with the knowledge that guardians were meant to protect their masters even if it cost them their lives. Intellectually, she had always been aware of what could happen to the first generation of the Sakurai series.

Emotionally, Honami's sudden death had flawlessly ambushed and shattered her mental stability.

Miyuki rubbed unshed tears from her eyes and stood up, skipping away to get changed and prepared for the rest of the day. As it was Sunday, she would have early morning classes, and then be allowed the rest of the day to relax however she wanted to. She wondered if Tatsuya could bring her to town for some shopping.

That would be nice.

Humming as she went, Miyuki dressed for the day and left her room, only able to avoid skipping to the kitchen due to her training as a young lady. From what she remembered, she would be working on rapidly switching between different kinds of magic during lessons that day. As nice as that was, part of her had recently been unmotivated to work on that specific skill. For all that she had improved her time, she could not shake the memory of her brother's speed when he used flash cast.

That tended to be a bit depressing.

She had asked to be taught flash cast, but apparently no one in the Yotsuba could use it anywhere near as well as her brother could. While annoying, hearing that also made her feel a little better about her comparatively snail - paced casting speed.

A guard waiting by the door opened it for her as she approached, allowing Miyuki to enter the room and sit down next to her mother. As happy as she was to do that, it was always hard to have to be with her mother and not have Honami standing next to them, ready to serve.

Miyuki wished the house would not keep reminding her of things she did not want to think about.

"How are you today, mother?"

"Pleasant. What about you, Miyuki? Did you sleep well last night?"

"Quite well. And I am excited to have little to do today, resting is always good. I had considered going shopping with Tatsuya later today, would you like to join us?"

As always, a frown briefly flashed through her mother's expression at the mention of the third member of their little family. She wanted Tatsuya around to guard Miyuki, but Miya would prefer her daughter accept his presence without truly acknowledging him.

At a time, that would have confused Miyuki. Now, she understood.

So, instead, seeing that expression brought nothing from Miyuki but pity. Pity, not for her mother being too stubborn to understand, but for being physically incapable of understanding emotion towards Tatsuya. The dangers of mental magic had never been more clear to her.

"No. Enjoy yourself, but I am fine with staying home for today. I'm afraid I have some work to do that cannot be avoided, so I will not be able to join you."

"Speaking of him, where is Onii-sama?"

Miya scowled again at the reminder of his existence, but Miyuki kept asking with her expression. Her mother had told her that Tatsuya was always watching, but Miyuki still was not certain how he could be. When he was not required to appear or already present when Miyuki went to see the family, he would be impossible to find.

"If you want to see it, just call for it. It will always answer your requests and be close enough to come at a moment's notice. You can do that after breakfast."

Ah, switching from 'he' to 'it'. Miyuki had come to measure her mother's emotions by the way she addressed Tatsuya, as social politeness or consideration for his feelings was never a factor for her mother. But, unfortunately, that also meant it was time to back off the dangerous questions.

"Of course. I hope your work today isn't too bad. The weekends are supposed to be relaxing!"

Miya relaxed her expression and gave Miyuki a smile, allowing the rest of breakfast to pass without incident. Internally, however, Miyuki promised herself she would continue with her self-assigned mission: getting the family to understand how amazing her brother truly was.

Even if her mother was unable to understand, the rest of the family could be convinced of the truth. Miyuki and her cousins, Kuroba Ayako and Fumiya, were proof members of the family could respect Tatsuya. She would not give up until they all understood how amazing he was.

Determination sharpened, Miyuki's gaze floated up to her mother, who was looking at her with a slightly confused expression.

"...Miyuki? Is there something wrong with the food?"

Glancing down, Miyuki abruptly realized she had been so lost in her thoughts that she had not noticed the food had already been brought. Fighting down the blush that rose to her cheeks, Miyuki shook her head and gave her mother her most charming smile.

"Not at all. My apologies, I was simply distracted."

* * *

For all that she was nowhere near the level of Tatsuya's flash cast, Miyuki was fairly proud of herself for the show she was putting on during her lessons. By now, a small crowd of children - all related to guardians or low members of a Yotsuba branch family - were gathered around the area, watching her in awe.

And, as always, her teachers showered her with meaningless praise as she practiced. From the children watching, whispers spread throughout the crowd.

"Untold genius."

"Prodigy."

"Next head of the family."

"Beautiful."

What she was doing was not particularly difficult. Sure, she doubted more than five other people her age could do what she was doing, but around 60% of adult magicians could. Her perception might be a little skewed, but Miyuki did not feel like she was doing anything that special.

How could these people honor her for such lackluster talent, but then ridicule her brother for being born with a level of power no other magician could possibly _hope_ to reach?

There were some things she hated about her family.

Then again, as she heard the cheering of the children supporting her- children who had done nothing to deserve being born in her family- she also knew she could never leave them. Cruel they might be, but they were still Miyuki's family and she could never do anything to hurt them.

Watching from her office, Maya smiled in cruel delight, instantly realizing from the girl's expressions that the chains which held Miyuki to the Yotsuba family were still strong. While fear was a powerful motivator, it was much easier to keep someone where they belonged when they, themselves, did not want to leave.

After all, she would not want her charming nephew and sweet niece to run away; they were perfect heirs to the Yotsuba family's legacy.

Running through the exercise again, Miyuki swiftly switched between creating a large block of ice, and evaporating it into water vapor at a moment's notice. An embarrassed but proud smile slid onto her face as she heard the cheers, but her eyes remained focused on one person: her brother.

Even from the distance he stood at to not interfere with her lesson, Miyuki could see the smile on his face and calm clapping he was giving her for her performance.

Miyuki's hears soared, and she momentarily thought the only thing that could make it better would be if her mother was also watching with Hona-

Snipping that thought at the bud, thank you. She would want Miyuki to be happy, so that would be what Miyuki would try to do. And a good way to start that would be to do well on her lesson.

Every time Miyuki flawlessly ran through the exercize, she would turn her gaze to her brother, eager for approval. Every time, she would be handed what she wanted without a fight. And, every time, the people in the crowd noticed their odd exchange, slowly paying more and more attention to it.

"Why is Miyuki-sama always looking at him?"

"Well, I heard they're siblings. Maybe she's just making sure she's doing it right?"

"No, I heard that he's a failure with magic. He's so weak, they kicked him from the line of succession. It's impossible for him to help her."

"Then why does she keep making eye contact with him? What's _he_ done to deserve her attention?"

The whisperings continued, growing increasingly offended and angry. The negative emotions spread, until it was only a matter of time before the wrong child heard and was prompted to take action.

"Is _she_ looking at him for _approval_?"

"Impossible. She _couldn't_ -"

"Well, maybe we should talk to him after her lesson. I'm sure _he_ could tell us what he's done to Miyuki-sama to corrupt her into doing this."

The children, ranging from six to thirteen, glared at the brother of their angel and plotted.

* * *

Miyuki smiled as she was given water and a report on her progress for the day. It was still morning, so she and Tatsuya would be able to get a lot done if they immediately left the house. Excitement flooded her body and only her training kept her from bouncing on her toes in anticipation.

Finally, she was dismissed by her teachers, allowing her to join her brother. As she approached him, Miyuki realized a small crowd had formed around him out of the children who had been watching earlier. For a moment, she was overjoyed that the other kids were starting to see how amazing her brother was.

Then she heard what they were actually saying.

While the adults had the same questions about her sudden change in behavior regarding her brother, they were usually socially aware enough to avoid saying so out loud. It would seem that, instead, they had been talking about it in the safety of their homes with their families.

An icy wind formed within Miyuki.

None of the children or teenagers had noticed her presence yet, instead remaining focused on her brother. The light left Miyuki's eyes as the children badgered Tatsuya about his sudden improved relationship with his sister. They demanded to know what had changed, why it had changed, and what he had done to trick her.

Frost rapidly began to form around Miyuki's feet.

 _He_ had not tricked her. Their "loving family" had raised them apart, creating an unnatural divide between them. The changes the children were seeing were the result of Miyuki finally peaking past the curtains which had blocked her before; she was acting the way she was always meant to.

But these children thought _Tatsuya_ had done something wrong. They thought he had manipulated her in some way. They thought her brother was too weak for her attention. They thought he was a disgrace to the family. They thought he was evil. They thought they were _better_ than him.

If Honami was here, she would have given them all an hour long lecture for what they were-

Nip the bud, nip the bud, _nipthebud_.

Then the oldest child - teen - threatened him. He told her brother they should have a fight to see which one of them truly deserved Miyuki's attention. They somehow did not understand that Tatsuya had _saved her life_ and was the most powerful person she had ever met and was amazing with CADs and they were ignoring all of that because they had the _audacity_ to believe they were worthy to be alive on the same _planet_ as someone of her brother's level-

"He could beat all of you easily!"

It took a moment for Miyuki to realize who had just spoken. When she saw everyone staring at her, she immediately flushed and covered her mouth in surprise, realizing it was her who had suddenly yelled.

"...Miyuki-sama, surely you can't mean-"

"I do," she glared, cutting off further objections. "I think you could all try to take him on at once, and he would defeat you without breaking a sweat. He has several destructive powers which make him dangerous, but I doubt he would even need to _consider_ using those."

"Are you seriou-"

"Yes. I know him, and I know he could destroy you even if you had every advantage imaginable."

The oldest boy flushed bright red, then scowled at Tatsuya. Until Miyuki had spoken, her brother had been emotionlessly receiving the words of the children surrounding him. Now, however, Miyuki could clearly see the blatant shock in his expression.

It made her a bit proud to know she had caused that.

"Well, if you're so sure he hasn't done anything to trick you, then I'll bet he could demonstrate for us," the oldest boy smirked, daring Tatsuya to admit his crime. The other kids copied the boy's expression, glaring at her brother with a deep, prideful, embarrassed rage.

Tatsuya calmly surveyed the group surrounding him, then looked up at his sister. Miyuki's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and shame over pushing her onii-sama into a corner, but her eyes held a striking determination. She did not regret what she had said, and silently asked Tatsuya to accept that. The children needed to be shown what her brother was really like, or the family would never come to understand her brother's brilliance. If they could prove it now, who was to say they could not prove it to the adults?

"...Perhaps a demonstration is in order," Tatsuya acknowledged, shocking the children around them. While hesitant, the fact that he seemed willing to try caused Miyuki's face to light up in sheer, undisguised happiness.

The children growled and stomped to a training room, daring Tatsuya to follow through with what he said. Miyuki remained where she was, waiting for her brother to move.

"Onii… sama?"

Tatsuya looked down at the ground, hesitation clear in his expression.

"Please. Talk to me."

"I…. How is this any different from the mistake I made at school? Scaring the students makes them try harder to find my weaknesses and defeat me. With our aunt watching every move we make in this house, I can't afford to do something too risky…."

"At school, accidentally scaring them let them know that our family is… unusual. These kids already know that, and the point of you fighting them is to scare them. I… I don't want the family to keep looking down on you like they do. Please, I… I want them to see what you're capable of when you fight."

For a moment, Tatsuya remained still, going over Miyuki's words. As his supercomputer of a brain analyzed the possible opportunity costs of each decision, he made eye contact and saw Miyuki's painfully hopeful expression.

"...You're right. I doubt our aunt would mind the actions we're about to take," Tatsuya turned and began walking to the training room. "I'll be sure to make a point."

' _Of course_ ,' he thought wryly, ' _Just because she might approve, doesn't mean these are good actions for us to take._ '

Regardless of his concerns, however, he could see how much Miyuki wanted him to prove this. If he was able to make her happy by doing something, then he would never refuse her request.

* * *

The training room was fairly simple for the Yotsuba family, but (even in the largely unfurnished room) there remained a plethora of hiding spots for the adults who wanted to see him in action.

Tatsuya almost sighed at how poorly they had hidden themselves; for the Yotsuba family, it was a highly embarrassing display. Though, to be fair, none of the other kids noticed any adults, so it was possible they thought their attempt at hiding was acceptable.

Arrogant.

What would watching even help them with? Interfering would reveal they had been watching to the children, and there was little use in combat information gained from watching a guardian spar with children. Besides, even if they did get involved, Tatsuya highly doubted it would change the outcome.

If anything, the most he would succeed in was scaring them.

 _"As for the fear you have generated among us… I have decided to agree to a suggestion made by one of the butlers who watched you. If they train in hand-to-hand combat with you, they will get a better idea of how to defeat you if you try to rebel against our family. I have decided to honor their request."_

For a moment, Tatsuya hesitated. He was - physically - more than capable of taking the pain and injuries which had resulted from Maya's punishment. Even mentally, the re-programing done to his brain made avoiding physical damage a relatively low priority. _He_ would be fine.

But, if Miyuki found out, there was little chance of her responding logically to the information.

"Onii-sama…."

Tatsuya blinked out of his thoughts and turned to his sister's anticipating expression. Seemingly working up the confidence to speak, she clenched her fists together and took a deep breath.

"Miyuki?"

"I… I obviously don't want you to kill them. They're still our family, and some of them a even younger than us. They're really just kids, but I… I want you to make a point to them. I- _please_. Please let them see some of the real you, and not the shell you always put up for the people around you."

As much as Tatsuya wanted to point out he was _incapable_ of viewing other people the same way as he viewed Miyuki, the hesitant-but-painfully-hopeful expression on her face snuffed out any chance of that.

It would appear greatly holding back was no longer an option. He would just have to make sure Miyuki did not find out about whatever punishment Maya gave him to calm the uninvited audience and parents.

Nothing he could not handle.

"Non-combatants, please leave the ring," one of the children said. Miyuki gave Tatsuya one final nod, before walking to the side of the room along with several untrained children.

The girl who had spoken re-joined the group who would be going against Tatsuya, turning towards him with a venomous scowl like all the other assassins-in-training.

Tatsuya's expression remained unnaturally blank.

"Ready?" the girl rhetorically asked, " _Begin_!"

Before his opponents had taken more than a step forward, Tatsuya had activated flash cast. As Kokonoe Yakumo's student, Tatsuya was nearly capable of taking on all of his opponents without using magic. He might have done that if he was fighting due to a mission from his aunt, but this was not a job.

They were questioning his right to be with Miyuki based on his abilities (or supposed lack thereof) as a magician; he had something to prove.

 ** _BAM_**

Simultaneous crashes resonated through the room as his opponents were slammed into the barrier around the ring. Before his opponents were able to regain their balance, Tatsuya used ninjutsu to appear directly in front of one, knocking them out in seconds.

As he turned, he noticed a handful had already righted themselves. They flooded their CADs with commands, glowing with the deadly power of their magic.

Only to have their spells shatter before their eyes. Specific magic jamming was always shocking to experience for the first time; perfect for a battle against children.

Again, Tatsuya _moved_.

Teenager- older - taller - too high - sweep legs - attack neck - next - younger - psion wave overload - same age - casting magic- _which_?- vibration spell - shatter the magic - flash cast- knockout - move on - approaching spells - shatter - _where_? - behind - too tall - judo throw - knockout - continue.

Tatsuya had been born for the sake of supplying the Yotsuba with a weapon; he had been trained from early childhood on viewing the people around him as enemies. When a fight started, it was all too easy to transition his thoughts into those of an emotionless tool.

Maya would be proud.

Or amused, at the very least.

Splitting the fight between his physical and magical abilities did nothing to slow him down, and the battle was over in less than a handful of minutes. Standing to signify he was the last person still up, Tatsuya cast his gaze toward his watching sister, nervously anticipating his evaluation.

The smile on her face was impossible to mistake for anything except approval.

In an excited burst, she ran up to the ring and enveloped him in a hug, tears of happiness turning her eyes glassy. Tatsuya easily accepted the hug, but turned his gaze up to the watching parents.

They had not interfered during the fight. He doubted they would have escaped punishment if they did, but it would be reassuring if they retained their belief that they could defeat him.

Perhaps Maya would treat it as a scuffle between children and leave it at that, regardless of the parent's concerns regarding him.

...Unlikely.

Slowly, sleepily, some of the children lying on the floor began to wake up. Light concussions - especially magically caused ones - tended not to last long.

Miyuki unwrapped herself from him and turned to glare defiantly at their waking family, grabbing Tatsuya's hand to clearly stake her claim.

Contrary to what he expected, rather than glaring at Tatsuya with the hate he had become accustomed to, their eyes were flooded with a new emotion: fear.

Tatsuya frowned as he came to the sudden realization that the way they were looking at him was identical to the frightened watch of his classmates. As if he wanted more people looking at him that way.

"Tatsuya-sama."

Many of the conscious children - including Miyuki - jumped at the sudden voice. Tatsuya, however, simply turned to address the servant who had likely been watching to report to Maya.

"Yes?"

"Maya-sama requests your immediate presence. Alone."

It was funny how they always took the time to say "requests" instead of just admitting it was an order.

As Tatsuya began walking to his aunt's office, the sudden apprehension towards what might come and his personal feelings of guilt nearly made keeping his expression calm a futile endeavor. It was the exact same result he had been trying to not reproduce.

Had he truly learned nothing since attempting to become more human?

Suddenly, Tatsuya found himself outside familiar nightmare-inducing doors. With all the time he spent staring at them, Tatsuya had no doubt he had memorized even the slightest of imperfections and scratches on the door. He would have to stop being called over so often.

Hopefully, Maya would restrict the punishment to just him, and keep his sister uninvolved from the situation. Tatsuya knocked on the door.

"Come in."

* * *

Miyuki took a deep breath. While she felt a little bad about scaring her family, Miyuki had wanted them to see how blinded they had all become toward her brother. And she had succeeded. They would never -c ould never - doubt his strength again.

But then Tatsuya had been called to their aunt's office. Before he left, her brother had made eye contact with her and given her hand a reassuring squeeze. Now, she wondered if he had been trying to reassure _himself_ just as much as he had been trying to calm her.

Lost in her thoughts, Miyuki began to walk.

While she was overjoyed with the result of the fight, Miyuki also could not help feeling slightly guilty about how she had pushed her brother into fighting for her. Big brothers were supposed to protect their younger sisters, but that did not mean little sisters should force them to.

Miyuki suddenly slapped her cheeks.

She had promised to herself that she would not be overwhelmed by guilt for anything. Honami would be sad if all her sacrifice amounted to was Miyuki spending the rest of her life in misery. She had a duty to Honami to keep her head up and continue smiling.

Of course, that would not get rid of the sinking feeling in her soul. Still, if she refused to be upset over it, then maybe, instead, she could do something about it.

...Though, on second thought, she had no idea what she _could_ do. The fight had gone the way she wanted it to, and there was little else she was capable of except supporting her brother when he came back from his meeting with their _loving_ aunt.

Still, she wished she could do something to help. He had done nothing to deserve whatever their aunt wanted from him, especially if it had to do with the recent fight. After all, _Miyuki_ was the one who told him to take action. If not for that, it probably would have been… ignored like usual as Tatsuya allowed himself to be treated as something less than human for a weakness that was not even true.

Okay, so maybe Miyuki did not completely regret her decision. Still, it was wrong for him to be punished for her actions and choices. If only she could talk to her aunt about-

Miyuki blinked a few times as she stared at the door in front of her. During her absent-minded walk, it appeared her subconscious had brought her to her aunt's office.

For a moment she stood frozen before the door. It was fairly rare for her to see her aunt in private, and even more rare for her to enter the office. In fact, standing in front of the door made her feel slightly intimidated by its size.

Or maybe it was just her knowledge of who was behind it.

But, on second thought, her aunt was not the only one behind that door. Her brother was probably standing there too, stuck in whatever discussion Maya wanted to have with him.

Miyuki frowned, fighting herself between going and staying. It was _possible_ their meeting was about the fight, but if it was about something else she would just make everything worse and-

No. She had promised herself she would live with no guilt. And if she tried to… maybe little sisters could protect their big brothers too.

* * *

Tatsuya remained silent as he listened to Maya's decision. His punishment was made far lighter by the fact that it was only a scuffle between children, but it was still not a great way to repay her for agreeing to supply a magician who could change memories. In his current state, Tatsuya had approximately zero bargaining chips to play - the last thing anyone would want to face Yotsuba Maya with.

A short time ago, both Tatsuya and Maya had heard a patter of footsteps approaching them. However, it was too loud to be a child assassin, and too soft to be an adult, so they had ignored the person and continued. So long as they spoke at a volume someone outside the door could not hear, there was no reason to get rid of them.

(Besides, his casual, mostly-subconscious use of elemental sight told him Miyuki was near enough for him to save her should anything happen).

Tatsuya and Maya had continued talking, but the last thing either of them was expecting was for the door to suddenly be thrown open, slamming into the wall. In the Yotsuba house _everyone_ knew to knock and receive permission before entering the head's office. Even children would have to be suicidal to ignore one of the most risky rules of the household.

But, when Tatsuya turned to see who the suicidal idiot was, he came face to face with his sister.

His sister, who was the _last_ person Tatsuya wanted to have know about his punishment. And, by the look on her face after the surprise disappeared, Maya knew that too.

"M-my apologies, Oba-yue. I'm… aware that I should have knocked, but I had… I had something important that I needed to tell you immediately!"

"Oh? Well then, why don't you shut the door and come join your brother? I'm sure it's very important if it has you acting like this."

As nice as the comment sounded, Miyuki had been trained enough to recognize the hidden meaning.

 _Why don't you close the only way out of the room and come closer to me._

Nevertheless, Miyuki did as she was instructed to, feeling uncomfortably like a butterfly sinking deeper and deeper into a spider's web as she did.

However, when she turned to face her aunt, she was suddenly able to relax. Her aunt was terrifying - that was just a fact of nature - but Miyuki was not facing her alone. Tatsuya was standing next to her, and he would never allow her to be hurt by anyone, not even their aunt.

Maya waited patiently for Miyuki to speak.

"It's-it's about the fight which has just occured. I would like to make it clear that Onii-sama's involvement in the fight was entirely the result of my actions. I have come to ask that any punishment you feel inclined to give him as a result be instead transfered to me!"

Judging by the sudden intake of breath she heard behind her, that had been the last thing Tatsuya had expected her to say. It had, in all honesty, been a spontaneous and improvised action, but Miyuki would stick by her request until their aunt allowed it.

"I see. But Miyuki, have you considered the possibility that you might not be physically capable of taking the kind of punishment or jobs I had been planning on giving your brother?"

A soft growl came from behind her, but Miyuki stood firm. Hearing that, there was no way she could allow her Onii-sama to take all of their aunt's anger. A deadly storm swirled through Miyuki's heart.

"I don't care. If you want to, you can give me something proportionately difficult, but at least allow me to take some of the punishment from him! He would never have gotten involved in the fight if I hadn't asked him to! And besides, the other kids are all equally responsible for agreeing as well! We're all at fault! I-please, allow me to shoulder some of the blame."

"And what reason would I have to do that, my dear? Perhaps I want these jobs done, and Tatsuya is the only one who can do them for me."

"I'm aware I am not at my brother's level, but I am still a magician. I'm begging you, please allow me to assist him-"

"Now Miyuki, surely you must understand. I would love nothing more than to give you what you want, but even I can't give my family _everything_. I would help you if I could, but there is no reason for me to allow this and every reason to not. I must admit, I'm afraid the world is working against you."

Now, finally, Miyuki was able to hear what her aunt was truly saying. _You have no bargaining chips in this talk. You are asking for something without any way to make it happen. I have all the power here, so if I don't want to do that, I won't._

The near-gleeful look on her aunt's face made the point readily clear: Miyuki had no power here.

"Oba-sama."

Miyuki suddenly turned, hearing the calm voice speak from behind her. Tatsuya confidently met their aunt's gaze in a way that Miyuki doubted she would ever be able to do herself.

"Perhaps a compromise could be reached. I will take on the jobs you have set aside for me, and then the two of us can do community service to make up for the rest of the punishment. You - of course - can give me additional punishment, but I believe this would solve all the problems the two of you brought up."

While Miyuki was slightly uncertain about the specifics of the 'jobs', she had trouble believing their aunt would have a political way to refuse his request. Turning back to Maya, Miyuki saw that she and Tatsuya were engaged in what she could only describe as the world's deadliest staring contest.

"...Very well. There shall be no extra punishment, but I do expect those jobs to be completed with the highest proficiency you are capable of."

"Of course."

"I see. Well Miyuki," Miyuki flinched and looked up at hearing her name, "it seems you're certainly growing up."

"T-thank you, Oba-yue. It's been… nice to see you."

"Of course, anything for my adorable nephew and niece. I'll call you both back later when I have decided on the… community service for you to do as your punishments."

"Understood," Tatsuya monotoned. "Thank you for listening to my sister's request. Have a nice day."

For some reason, Miyuki could not help but feel like it was less a 'thank you for lightening my punishment' and more a 'thank you for making Miyuki happy'.

She was not sure what to think about that.

* * *

Sometimes Uryu felt like the best thing about his committee was that the members knew when to leave him alone. Around once a week Uryu would become lost in thought as he contemplated the world's mysteries.

Like, for example, the subject.

Earlier that day, Uryu's sister had called their parents while he was still half-asleep (stupid nightmares) and made Uryu talk to them before he could escape. It had been as awkward and distant as ever, but it did make him think.

What about the Shibas?

What manner of beings could possibly have given birth to both an angel who was benevolently gracing the Earth with her mere existence, and a monster who was able to destroy that very same planet?

Okay, maybe 'destroy the planet' was a bit of an exaggeration, but the point remained.

If the parents were evil, then they should know more about their opponents. If the parents were unaware of Tatsuya, then they could possibly gain their first adult allies. If they were idiots who never wanted to be around their kids (no, he was _not_ projecting), then it would not matter; only at-home parents were worthy allies.

When Uryu had raised that point to the committee at lunch, Yuusuke had raised another: why not ask Miyuki if she wanted to help them out?

Sure, Miyuki was obviously not afraid of her brother - she seemed to somehow care about him - but they did not have to let her _join_ the committee. Instead, she could be a separate contract who they would convince to do various small jobs for them. The idea of having a gorgeous mercenary sometimes-hero working for them was exciting to all the boys who understood the cliche.

For now Uryu was standing (hiding) just outside the classroom, waiting for a moment to strike. When Miyuki was alone, Uryu, Yuusuke, and Chandra would go up to her and ask to speak to her in private. It had to be when she was alone though, or the subject might find out.

Conveniently, Miyuki had volunteered to clean the classroom, so she and her brother were alone once everyone else had left. It would be tricky to time right, but they just needed to wait for the subject to leave so they could confront his sister without him noticing they were ever there.

Unfortunately, they did not realize that Tatsuya had been completely aware of the presence from the beginning; they were simply not realistic threats to Miyuki's safety.

So, when Tatsuya finally went to return a pile of books to the library, the committee members - who Uryu really wanted to start calling 'agents' - attacked.

"H-hi, Miyuki."

"Hm? Oh, hello Chandra. It's a bit late now, you haven't left yet?"

"Ah, n-no," a deep breath, "I was with- well… I was with Uryu and Yuusuke. We… we recently became friends. Um, could we speak to you in private for a moment?"

"...That sounds fine-"

Before she had finished her sentence, the trio rushed her off to an empty classroom where Tatsuya would be unlikely to look for them. As Tatsuya saw them 'sneakily' rush out, he decided to use elemental sight to keep tabs on Miyuki until she returned to their classroom.

"What did you want to talk about exactly?"

Somehow, standing in front of Miyuki simultaneously made Uryu's confidence become embarrassment and arrogance as he tried to decide how to start. Luckily for everyone involved, Yuusuke was always the most level-headed person in the room (unless Tatsuya was there too).

"Sorry for calling you out like this, but… we've recently noticed how… we think your brother is… holding back in a lot of things. Have you… seen that?"

" _Yes_!" Miyuki suddenly yelled, much more invested than she had been just moments before. Uryu silently praised himself for picking such a perfect second-in-command. He took over the conversation from there.

"Based on what we've seen in that fighting unit in PE and his… weirdly extensive knowledge of CADs, we don't think he's being honest with how amazing he is during school."

Miyuki nodded frantically in agreement, ignoring how Tatsuya was always top of the class in everything. Uryu was not sure exactly what Miyuki thought Tatsuya could change, but if approaching her that way was working, he saw no reason to hesitate.

"It's just… kinda annoying, you know? We all try so hard, but we'll never be able to learn as much as we want to if the best person in class is always holding back. If he wasn't, then he could teach us more and help us and let us all pass class easily and stuff, but instead he seems happy to just be a student. We want to let everyone find out how amazing-" _dangerous_ "-he is so that he can't keep hiding that."

Suddenly, Miyuki's joy at the prospect they were suggesting disappeared. In a manner fitting a young lady trained in politics, she calmed down, made eye contact with all three of them, and glared slightly.

"...What brought this on? It's a rather sudden change, and I had always gotten the impression you weren't particularly close to him. I feel like I remember you two-" she gestured to Uryu and Yuusuke "being really weird around Onii-sama for a while after he saved me from your basketball."

Uryu flinched slightly at the reminder of how he had almost hurt an angel, but Chandra (who had not been involved) was able to respond for them.

"A-actually, they boys were really confused about… they didn't understand how Tatsuya had scared them like that. So they got confused and nervous and lost and… stuff and decided to spend some time watching your brother. I-I guess that might- it might not have been the best thing to do, but they got me in on it to. And we were- and the more we watched, the more we realized what he was actually capable of. It just doesn't seem fair that Tatsuya feels like he has to hide what he's capable of. And it seems wrong that we're the only ones who know about it. We'll start small, but just getting the school and-and your family to understand what he's capable of would be the first steps."

Uryu did not think he had ever felt more proud. Giving a small smile to his Commander of CAD Research, Uryu turned his attention back to Miyuki to see her change.

Mentioning 'family' had been a slight gamble, but Uryu could instantly see it had paid off. The moment Miyuki's brain registered what Chandra had said, she was forced to do a double-take and stare at Chandra with wide, hesitant, disbelieving-yet-hopeful eyes.

Uryu took back control of the conversation.  
"We haven't made much real progress yet, but that's mainly because we're still gathering allies. I'm not sure how much your family knows about Tatsuya's power and intelligence, but if he's still going to this school then it can't be much. We might try to change that as our first real mission for the committee. There's nothing specific we want you to do yet, but we'd like you to know about this and help us whenever we think we can make everyone else aware of how… great your brother is."

"Yes," Miyuki replied without hesitation, shocking the three "agents."

"R-really?"

"Yes. I- our family… they don't abuse him necessarily, but they don't treat my brother the way I'd like them to. They never appreciate him for what he's capable of, and they… all of them always seem to be looking down on him for things he can't control."

' _Is one of those the fact that he's a terrifying monster who needs to be put down_?' Uryu thought, but knew better than to mention.

"Oh! I- sorry. That's terrible! I can't-I can't believe they would- how could they-"

Surprisingly enough, Chandra's genuine stuttering made her come off as genuinely distraught by the perfectly reasonable reaction of Miyuki's family.

"I'm also sorry," Yuusuke falsely sympathized. "...Does that mean you would be willing to help us out when we have any questions or jobs for you?"

"Of course. I'd be happy to help!"

Uryu really scored gold when it came to picking his subordinates. He smiled slightly, then held his hand out towards Miyuki for her to shake.

"Happy to have you on the team."

* * *

Tatsuya stood - frozen - inside the empty classroom. After he had left, Uryu, Yuusuke, and Chandra had come into contact with his sister and taken her to a deserted room. For a moment, Tatsuya had been about to follow, but had paid enough attention to realize Miyuki seemed perfectly at ease.

So, instead, he had waited and watched. Elemental sight was still not perfected to a point where he could read the lips of the people he was watching, but Tatsuya had a general idea of what they were talking about. Given their recent obsession with his destruction and Miyuki's sudden drop in mood, they were likely interrogating her on his status while at home.

Unfortunately, not something he could morally excuse killing them all for to Miyuki.

So, Tatsuya had waited. He had continued the cleaning they had been assigned and tried to gain as much information as possible about the group's discussion. And, as he watched, cautious suspicion took root in his mind.

Why had Miyuki seemed so happy to shake their hands? She knew Chandra and knew the boys' reputation with basketball, but none of them were especially close to her. In recent memory, Miyuki had only looked that happy when she was around him-

Suddenly noticing the jealousy which was infecting his mind, Tatsuya took a deep breath and cursed himself for thinking the mental magic would affect it. Miyuki was the one thing it would not change.

Still, the question remained: what had been said to make Miyuki so happy? It was unlikely to be anything too dangerous, as her reaction had been completely genuine, but it was always best to check these sort of things and be thorough. At the very least, it could not hurt to ask.

The door opened as Miyuki slipped back into the classroom, their classmates nowhere in sight. She gave him an apologetic smile and resumed the cleaning in silence.

"Miyuki."

"Hmm?"

"I saw Uryu and his friends with you when you left. Is everything alright?"

It took a moment for Miyuki to understand what he was talking about, but soon her expression lit up as she remembered his elemental sight. She blushed slightly at having forgotten, but answered with a steady voice.

"Everything's perfect. I've been a bit annoyed lately at how I was unable to help you. Even asking you to fight our family wasn't really what I had in mind, and didn't make your life all that much easier. But with this-with how this is going… I think I'm going to be able to help you in ways I couldn't before."

"...I don't suppose you could explain what that means?"

"Nope! It's a surprise!"

The flippant answer caught Tatsuya off guard and he spent several seconds staring blankly at his sister while she continued cleaning. Unabashed straightforwardness was a brand of political maneuvering he had next to no experience with. He made a mental note to practice in the future.

Cautiously, as if waiting for something to attack, Tatsuya resumed his cleaning, watching Miyuki out of the corner of his eye (or elemental sight) for the rest of the afternoon. If something really ended up happening, Tatsuya took comfort in the fact that his aunt would supply him someone to change witnesses' memories.

At least Miyuki was fine. She even seemed… happy.

* * *

A chilled wind tore through the air as Miyuki froze the fountain in front of her. Before her power, the rapid water stilled in a matter of seconds.

"Well done, Miyuki-sama. Perfect as always."

It seemed a bit useless to her to have tutors who mostly spent the day praising her, but it did seem to be helping her improve. Personally though, Miyuki would attribute that success more to her brother than anyone else. She had asked him to keep her updated on magical theory, and he accepted without complaint.

So, instead of continuing to listen to empty flattery from her so-called "teacher," Miyuki turned her gaze to the wall Tatsuya was standing by and caught his attention.

"What did you think, Onii-sama?"

While he was uncomfortable with speaking when not addressed, Tatsuya would always answer her question honestly if she asked him to. Casting a quick, almost fearful glance to her teacher, Tatsuya turned back to her and hesitantly answered.

"It was much better than before, you're definitely improving. However, when casting the spell, you're receiving the activation sequence from the CAD, and then hesitating for a moment before casting. The sequence is already in your Magic Calculation Area, and the CAD's only purpose is to give you the sequence. You hesitate a moment to check for the sequence when you can immediately start casting. Try again."

Miyuki did, taking care to keep her brother words in mind. After a handful of practices, Miyuki had shortened her time by almost three seconds. As always, her brother was a far more skilled teacher than any of the prized instructors the family got her; she was already too far above their level.

Out of the corner of her eye, Miyuki noticed her assigned teacher frowning and clenching his hands into fists. Before, she would have been worried about that kind of reaction being given to her brother, but she now knew they would not try to stop him.

When she had first started asking her brother for advice, the teachers would belittle his words, bringing up his own lackluster talent in systematic magic. That had sparked enough arguments for Tatsuya to pull her aside and suggest she only ask him questions when they were alone.

Then, Miyuki had asked him to fight the Yotsuba family's children.

After that, the instructors never had any politically-acceptable way to stop him from helping her at her request. They had all seen what a supposed "invalid" had done to their prized students, and were too afraid of losing their last bit of pride to challenge him to a fight.

It was not only the adults either; the children had changed too. While their cousins, the Kurobas, had always loved Tatsuya, the other children had followed their parents lead. They had scorned him, mocked him, ignored his existence or thought of him as dirt beneath their feet.

They knew better now.

Instead, fearful, cautious eyes followed Tatsuya everywhere. No one objected when he stood with Miyuki, and they all knew better than to stop her when she wanted to spend time with him.

At first Miyuki had been upset when the children all became scared of Tatsuya, but the more she thought about it, the less sad she was. He had, after all, personally told her that she was "the only thing he could find truly precious." If that was true, why would it matter what anyone else thought?

Besides, if they were aware of his power, then she was one step closer to making the family treat Tatsuya with all the respect he deserved.

Miyuki froze the fountain again, beating her previous record by a fraction of a second. Immediately she turned to her brother, eager for approval.

The usual proud smile and silent applause told her more than words could ever hope to.

Now all Miyuki wanted was for everyone else to understand Tatsuya the way she did. Luckily, though, she now had allies in her fight to educate the world about her brother's true abilities.

Ever since the day Uryu had approached her about allowing Tatsuya to reach his full potential, Miyuki had become aware of a small organization made by her classmates towards fulfilling that purpose. She had been surprised so many people cared about her brother, but could not blame them. After all, it was her brother; no one who learned of his power would be content to let it stay a secret.

In fact, if Miyuki remembered correctly, she would be giving her report on her first assignment towards their shared goal later that day. Uryu had made it clear he did not want Miyuki to be part of the committee, but rather an outside ally who would be able to truly claim ignorance if interrogated. Because of that, she had the right to refuse any mission she did not want to do, but would still be asked to do jobs.

Her first assignment: get the committee information about the Shiba parents. It would be a bit tricky to not reveal anything about the Yotsuba while she was doing that, but Miyuki was confident she could give them just enough information to be useful.

Besides, with both the children's new understanding of Tatsuya and her own efforts for the committee, Miyuki was confident the world would soon know of her brother's magnificence.

Life was going well.

* * *

"Enough."

A single word from the Queen of the Night, and the reporting assassin froze. She had been in the middle of reporting her personal concerns to the head of house, and - in hindsight - realized she might have allowed a little too much of her personal bias into the report.

But what else could she do? It was a matter of utmost importance, and she had needed to inform her family head as soon as humanly possible. Or so she had thought. But, as the silence stretched on, the member of the Yotsuba family began doubting her decision more and more.

"Why, exactly, do you think do you think what happened is a bad thing?"

"I-I'm worried about how this will affect Miyuki-sama as she is considered for the position of head of the family. It would be unfortunate if it caused her to lose the reputation she has so perfectly maintained until now."

"And why do you think her spending time with my nephew would cause that?"

"Because he's a _guardian_. They aren't from the same world. Someone as impotent as him couldn't possibly be worth Miyuki-sama's time or attention."

" _Impotent_?" Maya repeated, mockingly questioning the assassin's intelligence more than asking. "And yet, from what I remember, he was able to defeat all the prized children of our family at the same time. Did someone lie to me about that when they reported it?"

A slight shiver ran through the woman's body at the memory. Tatsuya had not killed anyone, but had made it abundantly clear to the watching members of the family how easy it would be for him to do so.

"He… he may be highly skilled in combat, but that does not change the fact that if it had just been about the magic in the fight he would have easily been-"

"What makes you so sure about that?"

For a moment, the woman was startled into glancing up, looking the Demon King of the Far East in her eyes and seeing, for the first time, how annoyed she was.

"I'll ask you again. Do you really think those children would have been able to use magic to cause more damage to Tatsuya than he could have to them?"

The look in the Yotsuba head's eyes was familiar to the woman. She had seen it whenever someone upset Maya, usually causing the offender a slow and painful death. But, somehow, it looked more familiar to see it from that angle than it should have.

' _Oh_ ,' her brain suddenly found the connection. ' _That looks just like Tatsuya_.'

She would never be able to forget what the boy had looked like while fighting the children. He had been emotionless, orderly, efficient, but had let a spark of real emotion through his expression when they had suggested he was not powerful enough to stand with Miyuki.

Then, Maya suddenly relaxed, her anger making way for smug arrogance. Like always, she knew exactly what was happening in the minds of those who served under her, and realized the connection the assassin in front of her had made.

"I think you've realized your error, haven't you?"

The woman nodded, practically bringing her head to the ground as she bowed. She understood. She understood why the weapon - why _Tatsuya_ \- was so terrifying to the adults. It was not the fact that he was a near-emotionless tool, or how he held Maya's favor, or even the fact that he was a weapon with the power to destroy the earth.

No, it was the fact that he reminded them of Maya.

The "Demon King of the Far East" and the "Demon of Okinawa" were similar in far more ways than just their names.

"Y-yes. I understand. My… humblest apologies."

"That's good. Dismissed."

The assassin left the room, then collapsed on the ground in relief.

* * *

A tense silence grew as Tatsuya continued to stand apprehensively before his Aunt's desk. Paying no mind to her unnaturally still nephew, Maya casually filtered through several online documents in preparation for the Ten Master Clans' approaching conference. Slowly the situation turned from awkward to slightly ominous, and Tatsuya's calm, even breathing nearly faltered.

It was not hard to guess what he had been called to her office for. Ever since agreeing to do jobs to make up for his actions against the children of the Yotsuba family, he had been occasionally summoned to her for assignments too dangerous or difficult to give to anyone else. And, in exchange, Maya did not tell Miyuki the jobs he was taking were assassinations. Everyone won.

Now however, Tatsuya worried this one would be a little different.

His prediction was not unfounded.

Once approximately three and a half minutes had passed (no, Tatsuya had _not_ been counting, there was a clock right in front of him), Maya seemed to decide she had tortured her nephew long enough and looked up from her work, finally acknowledging him.

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you what you're here for."

It was not a question. Even if it was, Tatsuya knew better than to answer her.

"A little birdie told me some concerning information regarding the meeting I will take part in later today. It seems likely that an attack will be held on the conference."

Tatsuya vaguely remembered noticing a group of Yotsuba who had been extracting information out of a prisoner a short time ago. If that was the case, then it was nearly impossible the information was wrong.

Only one question remained: what did that have to do with him?

"So I got a little worried, as I'm sure you'd understand. It would be bad for our image if anything were to happen at the conference, and I obviously can't protect myself."

At this, Tatsuya could not help but allow his expression to momentarily shift into a glare. He knew she was only saying that to mess with him. He knew, and he _hated_ that. He hated how she could do that. How she was powerful and intelligent enough to emotionally manipulate him. How she could lie without hesitation and how she could control his actions and how she could get under his usually-impenetrable skin and how she could _hurt_ Miyuki because of her power and what _right_ did _she_ have to pretend to be _weak_ like she couldn't easily destroy _everything_ he loved-

Tatsuya abruptly schooled his expression into another blank stare, finally remembering where he was. The change was so slight - so fast - that almost no one would have noticed it.

Judging by Maya's expression, he was not that lucky.

"...You're in middle school now, so I'll be giving you more jobs than before. I hope you will have better control over your emotions when you stand before our enemies, including when you are required to be with my less-than-subtle sister. You must be patient if she says something similar, she sometimes forgets to pretend to care about the second monster she gave birth to."

The use of the word "second" surprised Tatsuya for a moment (though, this time, he did not let it show). He knew she was still bitter at his mother for the results of the experiment, but she usually had such good control that she only let it show when she wanted to.

For another minute, the tense silence resumed. Then, as if still lost in memories, Maya dismissed him without looking up from her desk.

Tatsuya bowed and left without another word.

* * *

In the long wait for the conference to begin, Tatsuya had been left with plenty of time to think over his job. He had no doubt Maya's little defenseless-girl act was only done to get a reaction from him, but that still left the question of why he was brought to the meeting at all.

Eventually, however, Tatsuya came to a conclusion: politics. The other clans were already well-aware of Maya's power as the Demon King of the Far East, but their only information about the rest of the family came from the conference. If someone did end up attacking, a previously unknown magician - a child, no less - easily destroying them would leave quite the impression.

No one would doubt the power of the Yotsuba clan after that.

Tatsuya re-adjusted the black glasses he kept over his eyes with a disturbingly blank expression. The lenses kept anyone from seeing the color of his eyes, allowing him to make an appearance in front of the other clans if necessary. And only if necessary, as Maya had made clear before they left.

So, instead, Tatsuya stood in the ceiling rafters as the meeting began, calmly watching the politics unfold. If nothing else, studying their actions would allow him to improve the persona he put up while in school. It would hopefully help him from gaining any additional enemies.

(Besides, after his dangerous actions against the children at the manor, it was reassuring to get a job that he was more familiar with. Bodyguard assignments rarely involved faking emotion.)

One thing he found interesting was that when Maya had been asked where her bodyguard was, her response of "oh, you'll see him if he wants you to" was immediately accepted. She had somehow built up such a strong reputation that the power of the clan was understood without question.

Not the reputation he wanted, but it did show he still had a lot he could learn from her.

The meeting continued with the usual political posturing and fanfare, especially between Maya and her former fiance. It was slightly ridiculous to see the extent that the head of the Saegusa clan hated the head of the Yotsuba. Tatsuya supposed it was lucky they had not brought the country into a civil war.

Yet, at least.

Tatsuya abruptly stiffened, straightening up and turning to his left. Elemental sight had just picked up some people who might be the expected-but-uninvited guests. Tatsuya raised a hand to his right ear and muttered into his comms.

"Yotsuba-sama. Our friends have arrived."

From his position in the rafters, Tatsuya was able to see Maya's smirk grow increasingly amused at his report. As did Saegusa Koichi.

"What _now_?"

Maya raised an eyebrow at the sudden hostility, but her relaxed body language never faltered. Tapping a code of "wait" to Tatsuya, she turned her gaze to the other heads as if judging their performance.

Kudou Retsu's eyes narrowed at her.

"You know, the word through the grapevine has it that some of you have annoyed a few important members of the Great Asian Alliance. What do you think they're going to do about that?"

As the clan heads turn to her with questions, Tatsuya divided his attention between the intruders and the conversation below him. The intruders' motivations were not required information, so this was the first he had heard of their apparent goals.

"Yotsuba-sama, they have taken down the guards outside without drawing attention. They will be here soon."

A tapping sound informed him of her acknowledgement, but no further instructions came. Maya's gaze slowly transitioned to the door as she waited for the confrontation to begin.

"Ten."

Tatsuya knelt on the rafters, focusing on the quick approach of the group.

"Nine…. Eight…. Seven."

The other clan heads followed Maya's gaze until they were all looking to the door. One or two attempted to call for guards, but no response came.

"...Six…. Five…. Four…."

In an attempt to annoy Maya, the Saegusa head ordered one of his bodyguards to investigate if "anything over there is somehow _more_ important than the heads of the other nine master clans".

"Three….Two….One."

 ** _BOOM_**

The room collapsed in on itself, sending the ceiling tumbling down on the people inside. Everyone instinctually threw their arms up to protect their eyes from the deadly shards of glass and rock which rained down on the room. From one corner of the room, the darkness was lit with the glow of magic.

A momentarily-blinding light stretched across the room as the Juumonji clan's Phalanx saved the crowd from the collapse of the ceiling and destruction of the wall. After a moment's pause, the bodyguards rushed to their charges, standing between them and the direction the bomb had come from.

"What was-"

"Who _dares_!"

"How did they-"

Any other questions were cut off as cast jamming suddenly flooded the room. It appeared that the intruders really were members of the Great Asian Alliance- not that they needed any more confirmation.

Tatsuya waited.

While not as bad as her sister, Maya was momentarily startled by the cast jamming, and clutched her head in the sudden headache the lack of magic caused her. She glared at the antinite rings worn by the heavily-armed intruders.

Tatsuya waited.

These were the Ten Master Clans. Antinite or not, the situation would most likely be taken care of within an hour, and retaliation would be swift and deadly. The only question was how much they would lose in that additional hour of struggle. What would the cost be?

Tatsuya waited.

"To the Ten Master Clans of Japan," the leader announced with a growl. "In response to your actions against our leaders, we demand compensation. You have no choice in the matter; it is payment or death."

It was slightly surprising they would do this only months after Okinawa, but Tatsuya assumed that this was a seperate group largely-unconnected to the military. Likely a criminal organization, given the Yotsuba family's involvement and knowledge of them.

"First from the Yotsuba family. What do you say, 'Queen of Night'? Are you going to _try_ to resist us? I'd love to get a glimpse of your fabled power, but that doesn't really seem to be an option."

Having gotten over her surprise at the cast jamming, Maya simply chuckled, stood straight, and looked him in his eyes. A gust of wind brushed past her hair.

"Yes, _unfortunate_ how that option has been removed for us. But you came all this way, I feel like we would be poor hosts if we still denied you your show."

"What was that?!"

The leader reacted immediately, pulling out his gun and aiming.

"I'll ask you one more time: Will. You. Cooperate."

"Then I must not have made my meaning clear enough, my apologies. My answer is _no_."

A tap of her fingers told Tatsuya all he needed to know.

The man growled. The trigger was pulled.

A loud **_slap_** hit the floor and was followed by a scream as Tatsuya nearly broke the shoulder of the man under him. His knee and weight kept the man pinned where Tatsuya had thrown him, and the slow adjustment of his arm kept the man from resisting. The decomposed bullet blew away like ashes in the wind.

"Move and I break your shoulder."

From behind his glasses, Tatsuya could see the clan heads and other intruders staring at him in shock over the sudden change in circumstances. News stations stood outside, filming the confrontation taking place in the building. Maya looked worryingly pleased.

"So, what will you do now?" Maya asked the leader, looming over his position on the floor. "Will you tell us what we want to know, or are you going to _try_ to resist us?"

The repetition of his earlier word (or maybe just the situation, it was hard to tell) made the man's face flush red in pure, unfiltered rage.

"We still have you surrounded! It's one hostage or over a dozen!"

"And do you really think your men stand any chance against us?"

One of the female intruders started to look hesitant, looking back and forth between her leader and her "hostages." The other intruders followed her actions, making their doubt in the situation clear.

"Though, on second thought, this antinite is getting a little annoying," Maya laughed again, completely at ease despite the antinite and weapons aimed her way. "And I suppose we don't really need anyone but you for information."

"What are you-"

"Guardian," Tatsuya looked up at being addressed. "Get rid of them."

Before anyone could ask what she meant, Tatsuya had relaxed. Tapping into his innate "abilities," he instantly studied the molecular makeup of the intruders and waved his hand to "get rid of them."

They were dust in the wind before they even had a chance to scream.

* * *

A usual habit of Maya's was to have hot tea after every Ten Master Clans meeting. It helped calm her down and usually allowed her to clear her thoughts. After all the talking and annoying grandstanding, it was always nice to have a little time to herself.

But, this time, she was not alone.

Tatsuya knelt before her as she sat at her desk, drinking her tea with calm ease. While some aspects had been more of a surprise, the conference had gone about as well as she could have hoped for; she loved having everything go right for a change.

Of course, there were still some things she needed to discuss with her adorable nephew. While mostly positive, his performance was… mixed, to say the least.

"I'd like to clear something up for the future. When I say 'get rid of them', I don't necessarily mean it literally," she took a sip of her tea. "It is always better to keep your trump cards close to your chest. Though, I will admit, Saegusa's reaction was highly amusing."

Just remembering the flabbergasted, disbelieving look that had colored his face filled her with a buzzing joy. Ah, yes. It had been a good day.

The other concern she had considered was whether such an obvious show of power would upset the power balance of the Ten Master Clans. Luckily, the Yotsuba's small numbers and the fact that Tatsuya had not worked through antinite caused suspicion, but not enough unrest to upset the clan's balance. Risking a war against the rest of Japan with the clan's already small numbers was careless, though Tatsuya's abilities might allow them an easy victory.

But what would be the fun in that?

"My apologies. I will be sure to not make the same mistake again."

How cute. It seemed that - as always - he was still slightly scared of her. What made it interesting was how it was different from everyone else's fear.

Kudou Retsu was likely one of the only people she had ever met who did not fear her. He was wary of her influence and motivations, yes, but not her power. Tatsuya was the same.

He knew better than anyone how dangerous he truly was. He knew that if he actively took a stance against her, he was more powerful. If he wanted to he could erase the planet, the Yotsuba compound would be child's play (especially considering that - technically - he _was_ a child).

No, he feared her for what she could do to Miyuki.

The girl who would eventually be titled her successor was everything Tatsuya needed. She was bright, charming, loyal, intelligent, kind, understanding and far, _far_ too trusting.

For all that she was (rightfully) suspicious of Maya, she held great love for her mother, and shared a close relationship with many guardians. The death of the guardian she trusted most - Sakurai - was an unfortunate, but wholly inevitable outcome. Maya had immediately ordered many more-subtle guardians to strengthen their relationship with Miyuki; easily done, considering how much they all loved her.

So long as Maya could influence Miyuki, she could control Tatsuya. Of course, she did not _want_ to manipulate her adorable nephew and niece, but what choice did she have If left unchecked, Tatsuya's power was more than capable of destroying the world.

Which, to Maya, would not necessarily be a bad thing.

But not yet. She wanted to play around for a little while longer.

Maya looked down at the powerful weapon kneeling at her feet. It was impressive; he had not moved nor fidgeted in the minutes Maya had spent thinking, only continuing to bow before her.

Well, despite the news catching film of decomposition, she was happy with his performance for the day. Perhaps it was time for her to reward him slightly.

"Why don't you go ask Miyuki if there's anywhere she would like to go? I seem to remember her wanting to go on a shopping trip that was interrupted with the fight you took part in after her lessons. I don't mind the two of you leaving for a private day at town, provided you remain with her."

Tatsuya immediately stiffened in the slightest of flinches, and Maya knew anyone else would have immediately done a double-take. He was suspicious; Maya had no doubt he was mentally running through all the possible motivations she could have for her uncharacteristically-generous offer.

Truly, his mind was a work of art. She was excited to see what he could come up with in the FLT research branch she had granted him ownership of.

"...Thank you, Oba-yue. I will be sure to ask Ojousama where she would like to go."

"Now, Tatsuya, I was told she wants you to call her 'Miyuki' from now on. I don't mind if you do that in front of me. In fact, not doing it goes against her orders, doesn't it?"

"Of course, Oba-yue."

Maya gave an amused chuckle; for all that he appeared respectful and wary, his voice never shook when he spoke to her. It was so rare for her to talk to anyone who was not overwhelmed by some combination of respect or fear.

Maya wondered if she should call Tatsuya to her office more often; she loved their little chats.

"Dismissed."

"Thank you, Oba-yue."

* * *

Uryu gasped awake, staring up at his desolate ceiling with fearful eyes. At least his sister had not been the one to wake him up, _that_ had been embarrassing.

The more research he did into magic, the more he wondered how there were no witch hunts to destroy the monsters that walked their streets like people. Then again, it was probably safer to operate in the shadows like the committee did, so he supposed that made sense.

Recently the news had been abuzz about an attack on the Ten Master Clans' conference by a criminal organization in the Great Asian Alliance. There had been some political discussion for a while, but everyone's attention was really on the magic used to stop the attack.

The cameras could not clearly pick up the boy who cast it, but the clans had released a statement that it was cast by a magician from the Yotsuba clan. The video's film of him had been blurry - his appearance vague. Only a few facts were obvious: his black hair, shades, agile body, and approximate age. He was young, _too_ young, practically a child. How young did the Yotsuba start training to make a kid that powerful?

The news was having a field day, but no one could get any information from Yotsuba Maya.

After watching the clip, Uryu's dreams had taken a turn. In them, it was Tatsuya casting the magic which had vaporized the armed criminals in a moment. It was Tatsuya wearing the glasses and suddenly appearing in front of him, destroying everyone Uryu loved with a careless thought. It was Tatsuya who had the power to erase people from existence with a simple hand motion.

Now, logically, Uryu knew it was silly of him; that boy was someone else. The magic community had no idea what kind of spell was used, so there was no way for Tatsuya - magician or not- to have the power to do that.

He logically knew it was not Tatsuya, but his emotions kept linking the two, terrifying, black-haired and emotionless magicians into one being. It did not help that they also looked nearly identical from far away.

His sentiments were shared by every agent in the committee, though no one had said so. The one good thing to come out of it all was how moral had spiked higher than ever. This, coupled with Miyuki's report on how her family treated Tatsuya, left the committee with mountains more to do than before.

As Uryu felt his heart rate return to normal, he became lost in a sea of thoughts. Because, honestly, Miyuki's description was really weird.

First, she made no mention of the magic they all knew the family had. Chandra said most families avoid telling people about it until the kids were in high school, but Uryu and Yuusuke were _sure_ something else was going on. Yuusuke's current theory was that part of the conspiracy meant they were supposed to pretend to be weak and defenceless so that no one would discover their true origins.

(They still could not agree on whether those "true origins" involved aliens, genetic manipulation, demons, or a plot to destroy the world).

Then, as always, the Shibas decided to confuse everyone with their weird family dynamics. Their parents were not divorced, but their dad was apparently never around. It was not like Uryu's parents, who lived for their work; it was specifically described as 'he is not welcome at our home.'

Despite that, the Shiba parents had supposedly never really fought; they were indifferent from day one. Miyuki even said that while she did not like her father, her brother and mother were both unnaturally indifferent towards him. Good families loved each other, bad families hated each other, and the Shiba family apparently… did not care about each other.

And the dad was the most normal part!

To keep her from trying to feed them propaganda sent from the conspiracy, Uryu made sure to request no information on Tatsuya. Luckily, Miyuki was more than happy to oblige him by giving them specific information about how the rest of the family treated him.

'Rest of the family,' because apparently nearly a hundred people lived at the Shiba house. Miyuki explained that their 'young cousins' (assassins-in-training, Uryu assumed) had disliked Tatsuya for a long time, then saw his abilities and became respectful and slightly scared of him. Obviously, that was Miyuki's subtle way of explaining how Tatsuya had shown his magic and nearly killed all who disrespected him.

Their distant Uncles and Aunts outright disliked him, but knew better than make any obvious moves and remained 'loyal to the family.' Then their mother's sister was described.

" _She's… a bit intimidating. You probably haven't heard of her, but she has quite a reputation in the groups we run in. All of our distant relatives are… loyal, I guess, to her. She cares about Tatsuya and me - I know she does - but she shows it in odd ways sometimes. We both know we can't really do anything against her, given that she's the head of the family, but I'm not… comfortable with all the things she does sometimes_."

Obviously, their aunt was the true head of the conspiracy. She kept Tatsuya under control, and kept the rest of the family loyal enough to not go against her weapon. Unlike the big magicians who had been making the news lately, Tatsuya was meant to be a hidden secret weapon; he was a hidden experiment.

Maybe during the committee's next meeting they could re-sort their priorities and… figure out what their next… big steps should… be.

Finally, Uryu's eyes closed and he drifted off into a light slumber.

* * *

"Obviously, from the amount of magicians there are, we can't yet declare war against them all," Uryu began, pausing to make sure his speech captured the attention of every agent present. "And I'm of the opinion we really don't need to. I think some magicians are basically harmless. They're people who can do a bit of combat or coding, but could probably be taken out pretty easily with an armed swat team. I say we focus on carefully breaking down and weakening only the most dangerous, inhuman magicians."

"Yes!" Chandra stood, showing none of her usual shyness. "I-I completely agree. I'm sure you all realize this has been my perspective from the beginning, but most magicians are fine. We- I think we should only focus on the ones that even other magicians should be scared of."

"Well, baby steps. It's not that we're suddenly allies of most magicians - we know that kind of power shouldn't be held by only a selective group - but we'll focus most of our attention on the truly dangerous ones."

"And who would you say those are?" Yuusuke asked.

Uryu was glad he allowed his second-in-command to speak whenever he wanted to, because those words gave him the perfect lead up to the dramatic reveal he had planned; it was like Yuusuke was psychic.

"I'm glad you asked! I've looked at our information and the news to complete a list of the magicians who I think we should focus on."

The agents in the room all leaned forward in their seats, anticipation clear in their expressions. Uryu motioned to Yuusuke to pull up the slide show he had created, gleefully posturing at the slight gasps that filled the room when the hologram behind him popped up.

"First, Taurus Silver."

"Silver? Do you… You mean the genius CAD inventor of the loop cast system?" Chandra asked, squinting at the screen as if sure she was seeing wrong. They had no actual pictures of the man himself, so Uryu had decided to just include a picture of a FLT CAD he had found online; there was nothing for her to miss-see.

"Yes. It's like you just said: he's the genius CAD inventor who created the loop cast system. He created something that - just by having it - greatly increases a magicians combat ability. With more time, there's no telling what else he might do for magicians. So long as he continues to create new CAD software, we have no choice but to treat him as one of our most dangerous enemies: Undesirable Number Four."

"But he's an adult who's part of a huge company. What can we do against him?"

Uryu froze in his spot, staring blankly at the agent who asked him for several seconds. Finally, he gave a dramatic, sweeping hand motion towards the crowd before him and confidently laughed.

"Don't you get it? Figuring out our enemies is only the first step; it is the responsibility of each and every agent here to figure out their own answer to that question. We are a collective - a _team_. This isn't me and a bunch of mindless followers, this is me and a group of highly skilled agents who are working _with_ me on this…. I'll admit, I don't know what exactly we're going to do against him, but the first step to our victory is all of us agreeing that _something_ must be done. Does that make sense?"

The worry and suspicion in the agents' gazes was soon replaced with awe and respect. It seemed so obvious to them in hindsight. They relaxed and stared up at him like their savior, for he had seen what none of them did. _This_ was why he was their leader.

'I can't believe I came up with that on the spot,' Uryu thought as he casually motioned for Yuusuke to continue to the next slide.

This also lacked a picture, instead showing a map from above of Okinawa. This time, the agents seemed to grasp who he meant fairly quickly.

"Ooguro Ryuuya. A new Japanese strategic-class magician. He is extremely dangerous. There are a handful of strategic class magicians, but we have no idea what his power is despite how close he is to us. We saw the huge explosion, but that could have been caused by anything. All strategic-class magicians are our enemies, but it should go without saying that he's the most dangerous of them all. Our only consolation is that - at present - he is still controlled by humans in the Japanese military. His actions are more predictable. To us, he's Undesirable Number Three."

When Yuusuke shifted to the next slide, a collective gasp echoed through the room. Everyone recognized the terrifying boy from the Ten Master Clans' conference who had turned people to dust with a wave of his hand. He was Undesirable Number Two.

"The Yotsuba magician at the Ten Master Clans' Meeting. He's probably an assassin with how he stayed out of sight and preformed murder with _brutal_ efficiency. Even among all the other clan heads, he was the only one able to respond during the attack. They might have with more time, but - for now - it's obvious that he is the most dangerous close combat magician we know of."

Then, the final slide.

"Finally: Tatsuya Shiba. You might be confused why I'm including him - as dangerous as he is - with these other people. It's quite simple, actually. I'm sure you've realized by now, but I'm getting someone from every important section of magic. I think it should be obvious that Taurus Silver is the most dangerous for the mental part of magic: new weapons development in CADs. Then the military in Ooguro Ryuuya, our greatest strategic class adversary. Politics in a magician from the Ten Master Clans, and then Tatsuya: a weapon whose true existence and purpose is unknown to the world. For all we know he is one of hundreds of examples of this, but he's definitely the closest to us. The magic underworld representative: Undesirable Number One."

Some of the previously-excited agents became nervous, realizing how big of a task they were setting out to do. One boy squeezed his hands together and hesitantly looked at Uryu.

"That's four different people, two who are adults. Will we be able to focus on so many at once?"

"Well, personally, I'd say yes. We're a team of people who have seen through the black shadows and blurry lenses to the light beyond the lies. We're the only ones who _can_ fight for humanity. It's our duty to try, whether we're capable of it or not. Besides, now that we've seen through their lies, the hard part is over. We'll take down the world's four most dangerous magicians at any cost!"

* * *

I appreciate all the reviews! 


	5. Chapter 5

A group of people - _agents_ \- stood around a table, grim expressions on their faces. They knew the importance of their meeting, and knew they could not risk showing hesitation. After all, if they fell, who would be able to stand against the might of the monsters which traumatized children?

It would be an intimidating picture, if not for one problem: the three "agents" were barely tall enough to look at the papers on the table when they sat down. Unfortunately, their meeting space was designed for adults, not barely-in -middle-school-children.

Luckily - with no one watching - the three could consciously ignore that fact and still feel like adults. Their leader stood up, suddenly slamming his hand down on one of the pages.

After marginally jumping in surprise, the other two calmly glanced down at the paper under their commander's hand. It contained a blurry picture of the boy who had first appeared months ago, but was being shown on TV: the Yotsuba family's prized assassin. The only known bodyguard of Yotsuba Maya.

The agent's leader stood up straight, commanding, "We want information on all the undesirable magicians, but we'll never get anywhere if we don't focus on one of them. I believe our first… target should be the unknown Yotsuba magician; he is the one we have the least information on."

"I see, is there any other reason for choosing him we should keep in mind?"

"Er-no, not really," Uryu responded, knowing the other reason was that it just happened to be the only paper in reach of his dramatic hand slap. He doubted that would do much for moral.

"Um, okay… why don't we, er, we should start by going over what we know," Chandra said, growing more confident as she continued. As she spoke the other two nodded, the third boy even turning on his phone to take notes.

"Alright, we'll start with the most obvious: he's dangerous. Dangerous enough that the 'Queen of the Night' uses him as her bodyguard," Uryu explained, Yuusuke typing notes as he went. "The Yotsuba's are known as the most dangerous family in the Ten Master clans - possibly the world. Any magician they trust and respect must be treated with great caution. Do we all agree?"

"Well, yes, obviously, but..." Yuusuke trailed off. "What about Yotsuba Maya?"

"...What about her?"

The committee's second-in-command lost his calm facade for a moment, running a tired hand through his hair to ease his growing frustration.

"I mean, we're looking into that Yotsuba magician who's really scary and all that, but what about _her_? Isn't she, you know, _known_ for being super powerful. She's the one with the whole 'Queen-of-the-night' nickname, why aren't we going after her? Or at least _researching_?"

Uryu - who had honestly never considered any of that before - answered, "We sorta are. Um, see… if we go after that Yotsuba magician, it's not like I planned to take him out and be done with it. There's really no point; even a super powerful magician is only one among hundreds. I meant more that we should focus our attack on him, create a hole in the 'wall' to the illegal side of the magic world, and go through that opening to take down the rest of the industry. It would be pretty stupid to try to go after everything at once, so I just gave us a starting point."

Yuusuke seemed to approve of the answer, and Chandra seemed to be staring at him with stars in her eyes. For a moment, Uryu could not help blushing at the attention from the girl, momentarily wishing Miyuki would look at him the same way.

Then Yuusuke turned his attention back to the files sent to his computer, and Uryu let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding. The reason he had not included Yotsuba Maya was mainly because he forgot about her; it was much easier to remember someone when you see them played constantly while watching any news. Taurus Silver, Ooguro Ryuuya and the Yotsuba assassin were on literally _every_ news station, so remembering them and Tatsuya was barely a conscious decision.

Still, it was a good point: what about Yotsuba Maya? He did not really have anyone on the committee he could spare to do research on her, and it would be annoying to explain why he took so long to think of her. Uryu scowled in annoyance and he racked his brain for anyone who could-

Uryu suddenly stilled, his eyes widening in shock. It was so obvious when he thought about it, he was shocked it took him so long to consider. He could just ask Miyuki Shiba to look into her!

"Yuusuke, I'm going to make a call real quick. I'll be right back."

The second-in-command glanced up momentarily at the announcement, but nodded once and looked back down at his files without suspicion.

Uryu's confidence soured as he took his phone out and dialed the number of the class's resident angel.

* * *

Miyuki, channeling all of her political training, casually brushed some hair behind her ear in a way that both made her seem extra cute and would not obstruct her view of anything her target did. The seemingly-inadvertent action had actually been carefully crafted and trained into her, so only a prodigal genius at political manipulation would be able to realize what she was doing.

Unfortunately, Tatsuya was one-such prodigy. As proud as he was of her fairly-decent attempt, he would have to speak to Maya about getting the instructor to work more on the suspicious blinking Miyuki was unconsciously doing out of nervousness.

Although the various intricacies of her attempt were interesting, his mind was occupied by something else: why was she practicing on _him_? Miyuki should know that, of all people in the world, she was the one person who had nothing to fear from him.

While Tatsuya began reviewing his past actions to find his mistake, Miyuki began subtly taking deep breaths to calm herself. She had asked him to come meet her privately, so it would be her job to start the discussion. As soon as she told him, she would be able to relax.

Right, she could do this, she just needed to tell him.

As soon as she spoke, it would be fine.

Any second now.

Miyuki was highly tempted to clench her firsts and groan when the words remained silent in her throat. Maybe it would be best if she just made up something else to tell him-

No. That would be lying to herself and living with regrets, both of which she had promised Honami she would try to avoid. It was just something she would have to come out with. It could go wrong in so many ways, and it could be overheard by someone, and it could get her in huge trouble, and it could get Tatsuya in trouble, and it could make everything awkward between them, but she would just have to stay strong and tell him.

Miyuki abruptly realized how bad she was at giving herself pep talks.

Suddenly slapping her cheeks to shake herself out of her hesitancy - and ignoring Tatsuya's following bewildered stare - Miyuki took a deep breath.

"Onii-sama," Tatsuya blinked up at suddenly being addressed, "I… I wanted to ask you for something. I was… thinking about our aunt recently and… what do you think of her?"

For a moment, Tatsuya considered lying. His emotions regarding their aunt were mixed, and - if he were speaking to anyone else - he would have simply given them what they wanted to hear.

But not to her. Never to Miyuki.

"I do not have any singular emotion that stands out regarding her. I do not believe I can truly love anyone except you, but I will acknowledge that we are family. Then I would have to say I respect her. She has many abilities and skills I do not possess, and I had not expected the extent political power I witnessed her use at the Ten Master Clans Conference-"

"What about fear? I… I know you're really strong, but so _many_ people fear her. Are you ever scared of her?"

Tatsuya could _feel_ how much Miyuki wanted him to deny any fear towards their aunt. How much she wanted him to be invulnerable to even the Demon King of the Far East. But, if she honestly asked him for the truth of his feelings, he would not lie to her.

"A little. I have far less fear than a majority of people you will encounter, but I would be a fool to go against her. I do not possess the power to go against all of the Yotsuba, and I am not blind to the fact that you would hate to go against many people in our family."

"I would do it for you!"

"I know you would, but I could never ask you to. So, we continue to serve under her and she allows us to continue living our lives like this. I am satisfied with that relationship, but also aware she could take it away if she wanted to. My power keeps her from doing anything too wrong, but that is not a card I can play without limits. So yes, I fear her for being the one who can most easily destroy what I care about. Is that an acceptable answer to your question?"

"Uh, yes, thank you."

Another awkward pause. Another deep breath.

"...I've thought about this a bit recently. Someone asked me to do something that made me think of our aunt, so it's been on my mind. I… obviously don't think you're similar to Oba-yue in any bad ways, but I do think some people have been… perceiving your power similarly."

Tatsuya remained silent for a moment, unable to deny her claim. He said, "I think I understand what you mean, but is there something you think I can do to fix this?"

"Well, I know the kids here were somewhat my fault, but yes. I love our aunt, and I know she loves us, but I don't want people to see you that way. I… I don't want fear to be the first emotion even our friends experience when they think of you. If even you - her nephew and a strategic-class magician - fear her slightly, then something's wrong. I don't want you to be like that."

Tatsuya nodded once in understanding; there was plenty Miyuki did not know about his relationship with their aunt (the jobs she put him on, for starters), but he doubted she would approve of those either. If she wanted him to not show his power in the same way their aunt did, he would do everything in his power to oblige.

"Of course, Miyuki…. Thank you for caring so much about me."

"I love you, Onii-sama."

* * *

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with us, Agent Shiba. Have you completed your report on the head of the Yotsuba family?" Uryu asked with no small amount of preening. It confused Miyuki slightly, but she was more than used to boys acting strangely around her.

The surrounding agents, who had not been informed of the 'secret' task, perked up in interest.

Miyuki pulled up her presentation and turned to face her audience, hiding an annoyed grimace. As much as she hated talking about her aunt, she could withstand it. It was like Honami always said, " _in order to maintain your facade, you must first deceive yourself_."

It was fine; she could do this.

"My opinion of her is… mixed. Her reputation isn't just for show, she's _dangerous_ , but that isn't all she is. I believe it might be easiest if I break this into two parts: her good qualities, and then her bad qualities."

Uryu nodded once to show his approval, and Miyuki started her explanation.

"For one, her magic is inspirational. She is one of the most powerful magicians in the world, and not just because of the danger her innate-magic poses. She puts a lot of time into researching magic, so she helps the world of magicians progress through that too. In fact, the Yotsuba is the main owner of FLT, the company Taurus Silver is currently working at. They released the loop-cast system just a little while ago."

Due to her training, it was easy for Miyuki to notice the collective _freeze_ every agent experienced when she mentioned the connection to FLT and Taurus Silver. Eyes widened, and Chandra had even flinched. Miyuki had been about to ask what was wrong, but Uryu shook himself out of it and motioned for her to continue.

"Well, the Yotsuba might be the smallest family in the Ten Master Clans, but they're far from the weakest. The loyalty each family member has to the head is unshakable, and the only ones who challenge the head are her family members."

"She has family?"

Miyuki blinked at the interruption, but was able to continue without pause. "Yes, she doesn't have any children herself, but her sister has children. Other than that, the Yotsuba are an extended family, so the heirs are all her close family members."

"Um, we- we haven't seen her sister at any meetings, why is that?" Chandra questioned.

Miyuki's smile turned regretful, and for a moment she had to fight back tears. "Well, Yotsuba Miya is an amazing magician as well, but she is sick. Very sick. It's rare for her to do anything too stressful anymore, and the family is mostly trying to keep her alive."

"...I see, anything else?"

"We could move on to bad qualities now. First and foremost, she's terrifying for a reason. She is ruthless and unforgiving and cruel and instils fear even in her family. The Yotsuba deal with illegal things too, and even criminals know better than to directly cross her. I think it's unquestionable she loves her family, but she expresses it in… dangerous ways. She'll manipulate and trick them for entertainment, but will also try to let the younger family members grow into being more capable people."

"So she cares about people, but only the ones she's raising under her?" Uryu checked and leaned back in his chair. "I guess I can respect that, though I doubt it wins her many allies."

"You would be right about that. The Yotsuba are the smallest family in the Ten Master Clans, but also one of the most powerful. They focus on quality over quantity, I suppose. If you don't mind me asking, would you please explain why I was looking into her for you?"

Even if she was not a member of the committee, Uryu would never be able to directly refuse one of Miyuki's requests. It was annoying at times, but being able to turn on a little extra charm when she wanted something was certainly convenient.

"You remember the goal we told you about in regards to Tatsuya, right? We don't want him to continue hiding his true power and all that." Miyuki looked confused for a moment, but nodded. "Well, one of the things we saw him do was answer that question about CADs during class, so we think he might have some sort of connection to the people in the world of magic. We figured we should do some research, and, when we learned the Yotsuba kept a lot of secrets, we thought they were the perfect choice."

As Uryu spoke, Miyuki began to internally panic; she had never been confronted by people who guessed their connection before. Luckily, her training allowed her to hide all of her inner emotions, and only showed polite curiosity in her expression.

"I see. I don't personally know of any connection between us, but I guess it's worth considering. So, do you view Yotsuba Maya as an enemy now?"

"I do. And you know, she's being evil and using her power to control magicians. She's directing them, but getting involved with criminals and hiding her weapons. She sounds a whole lot like an evil version of me, so I think it's part of my duty to be the light working against her."

The agents around him nodded and praised him in agreement. It took all of Miyuki's self-control to not burst out laughing at the boy who had the audacity to assume he would even register as a tool to her aunt, let alone a worthy adversary.

Miyuki turned around and quietly left the room, not willing to stay and risk showing her amusement.

* * *

Chandra took a deep breath, calmed her nerves, and sat down next to Miyuki. Perfect, flowing ebony hair turned toward Chandra mild surprise, but soon recognized her and sent her a warm smile. Chandra relaxed.

She had not been sure she would be allowed to approach Miyuki, regardless of their closer relationship from the committee meetings. It was only with Uryu's careful guidance that she was starting to get over some of her shyness. For that alone, he had her loyalty.

It was only after she sat down that Chandra realized she had forgotten to make a reasonable excuse for why she was there; "my boss wanted me to make friends" would probably just make everything more awkward.

"Hi Chandra, how are you?"

"Oh… good, I'm great. It's… nice weather today?"

Miyuki, the reigning queen of all angels, seemed to notice her growing embarrassment and gave a small chuckle.

"Yes, it is. Oh, I'm having an end-of-the-school-year party soon and I was planning on inviting most of the girls in our class. It's Sunday afternoon, can you make it?"

"I… Yeah, I… I think that lines up with my schedule," Chandra took a deep breath. "Where would we be meeting up? Is it going to be at your house?"

"I wish!" one of the girls next to Miyuki called out with a laugh. "No, apparently Miyuki's family is insistent on not letting her have friends over, but she's super rich so she rented out this whole carnival thing instead."

" _Kyoko_ , it's fine when it's me, but you really need to stop gossiping like that!"

Kyoko answered only with an unrepentant grin.

"Well, if your brother's there, I'd be more than happy to show up at a barren wasteland, so I guess I can make due with not getting to see your house again."

"Kyoko! I-"

"Your brother's going to be there?" Chandra suddenly interrupted, bringing the two girls out of banter. Miyuki turned to Chandra and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Yes, sorry about that. Kyoko and I were saved from an out-of-control ball by him, and ever since she's been just a little bit _obsessed_ -" Kyoko shrugged and grinned "-but it's nothing you need to worry about. He likes to keep an eye on me, so he goes most of the places I go."

"O-Okay then, I'd love to go."

Kyoko and Miyuki nodded encouragingly, but Chandra still had doubts. Challenging her social position was one thing, challenging Tatsuya alone was suicide. Chandra's gaze drifted to where her boss was playing basketball, knowing she would need his advice.

* * *

"Hmm... cool," Uryu murmured and leaned back in his chair. "And you have an invitation?"

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure Tatsuya's the only boy allowed to go to this one. Besides, you'd need a specific invite to be allowed in, so we won't really be able to bring anyone without asking."

"That should be fine," Yuusuke assured her, "We already know that, with Tatsuya upping his game and everything, it will be much harder to influence civilians than we thought. You can gather information, but you should try to avoid any direct confrontation. Right, Uryu?"

After a moment's hesitation, Uryu nodded. "Though, I would like to see if you can get any more information on the magic he's capable of. And maybe on his mom too."

"Er-just the mom?"

"Well, if their dad's there, then sure, him too. If he's not there then he's of no use to us. I refuse to work with someone either too busy to notice what his son is or too scared to do anything about it."

"….Okay, anything else?"

"Shouldn't we tell Shiba - er, Shiba _Miyuki_ \- about this? Not in detail, just that while she's at Miyuki's party we want Chandra to get some information on the family. If you-" he turned to Uryu "call her, it should be fine. It is technically information on Tatsuya for the sake of allowing the world to see him for what he truly is, so we could phrase it like that and not even really have to act. Besides, Chandra has always been the one who was the least disgusted with Tatsuya out of the tree of us."

"I… yeah, I think that makes sense," Chandra smiled. "Understood. I will not fail."

"Well then, agent," Uryu's voice rose in volume as he stood and walked closer to Chandra. "You understand your duty. Do this for us, for humanity! Humanity loses everything if our resistance stops or fails!"

"Right!"

"Then you are dismissed, soldier. Do not fail us."

Chandra gave a resolute nod, then turned and walked out of the door. As she left, Uryu clenched his fists, nervousness swelling within him. What if he had not prepared her enough? Was he sending her on a mission she was doomed to fail from the start?

Yuusuke placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder; Uryu relaxed. He was not sending her to her death, he had faith in her ability to succeed.

Uryu and Yuusuke looked up abruptly when the door swung open again; Chandra peeked her head in.

"Sorry, I forgot my jacket," she whispered. On her tiptoes, Chandra sneaked to the chair she had left her jacket on and grabbed the cloth, then snuck out of the door again.

"She's ready… right?" Yuusuke asked, still staring at the door. .

"I-yeah… probably?"

* * *

Uryu took a deep breath to ease his nerves as he dialed the number he wanted to call in painfully slow fashion. It was hardly his fault; for all that he was now a respected commander against evil, nothing could possibly prepare him for having a private phone call with _Miyuki Shiba_.

Noticing the slight shake in his hands from nervous energy was making him even more anxious than he already was. The wait was killing him as the phone call beeped in steady rhythm for her to pick up the call.

"Yes?" Miyuki's voice asked, and suddenly a holographic projection of her appeared before him. "Oh, Uryu. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Ah, not specifically. We were-I was just wondering if something would be okay with you. Just… we were talking, and Chandra mentioned going to your party. Would you mind if, while she was there, she also tried to get information on your family dynamic and all that?"

"Not at all! Just so long as she's sure to enjoy herself too. Um, Tatsuya will be there, and I'll obviously be there, but Dad and my aunt probably won't be."

"Alright, what about your mom?"

"Ah, well, she's going to try to be there. We'll have distant family to supervise us, but she wants to get a good look at some of my friends. It's just… she's sick a lot lately, and might not be able to come."

"Sick a lot? And Tatsuya can't do anything about it?" Uryu asked, flabbergasted, then regretted it a moment later.  
"Huh? He's… not a doctor or anything-"

"Right, sorry. Guess I just feel like he could do anything if he really put his mind to it, but I guess that's silly. Anyways, if it's okay with you then great! We'll just do that."

"Right… see you later."

"Uh, yeah, bye."

The phone clicked off and Uryu collapsed onto his chair. He had turned into even more of a stuttering mess than Chandra! He did not get it, it was not like he had never talked to her before. It had seemed so different because it was… just the two of them… at night… talking on the phone… alone.

"Uryu, you should probably go to bed soon!" Uryu's sister called as she opened the door. "You've got school - hey, why's your face all red? Are you sick?"

"Huh? It's not-"

"Yeah, it is…. And who were you calling so late at night anyway? You literally just saw your friends… oh, did you call that girl? Miyuki Shiba?"

"Where did you hear that name!"

"Some parent told me all the boys in your class are in love with her, and she matched the description of a girl you've mentioned quite a few times. I'm also not hearing a denial…."

"It's not! I'm not-"

"Mmhm."

"Stop that!"

"Mmhm. Well, you should probably go to bed soon. G'night!"

"It's not like that!" Uryu screamed, but his sister had already left the room.

* * *

"Miyuki," Tatsuya called, knocking on her door. "Are you finished with your call?"

"Onii-sama!" Miyuki exclaimed in surprise, momentarily startled. "When did you get back?"

"Just a few minutes ago; Major Kazuma's mission was a bit trickier than I expected. Sorry, you had seemed engrossed in your call, so I didn't want to interrupt."

"Just because you can see me with your magic doesn't mean I can see you! I was worried about how long the mission was taking! You could have at least texted…."

Seeing his sister's adorable scowl, Tatsuya could not help but smile. "Sorry, I'll be sure to let you know in the future when I'm back. Would that make you feel better?"

Relaxing into a smile, Miyuki nodded to show all was forgiven. Tatsuya was about to leave, but noticed the suddenly thoughtful, considering look which crossed his sister's face.

"Miyuki?"

When his sister looked directly into Tatsuya's eyes, he could see a wave of conflicting emotions in her: anger, uncertainty, determination and a fierce protectiveness. Tatsuya took an uncertain step back.

"Are you… mad at me for something?"

"No, I'm… just thinking," Miyuki muttered, then whispered, as if repeating a quote, "Guess I just feel like he could do anything if he really put his mind to it."

Concern for Miyuki flooded Tatsuya's usually-apathetic mind, and he felt himself going into a minor panic; he walked closer and knelt before his sister, once again finding her eyes.

"Onii-sama… Do you think that, if you really tried, you would be able to save Oka-sama's life?"

Tatsuya's steady breathing hitched.

"I… had never considered it before. I know of her illness and the solutions doctors are attempting, but I haven't looked into it. Even if I found a way, the Yotsuba family doesn't trust me."

"Doesn't respect you, you mean," Miyuki paused, allowing her anger to fade. "But… Oba-yue does respect you. She knows what you're capable of and knows you can do almost anything you put your mind to. I bet, if she and I vouched for you, you could try-"

"I'm sure you're right," Tatsuya acknowledged, "but regardless of her feelings towards me, she would never let me try to save your- _our_ mom. I'm sure you've seen it whenever they speak to each other, Oka-sama and… Oba-yue have no lost love for each other, despite their status as sisters. I highly doubt she would want me to waste time, money, and energy I could spend doing other jobs on Oka-sama. In her opinion, I would do much more good for the Yotsuba if I did not try to save her."

"But she lets you accompany me on all sorts of things!"

"And you are a possible heir to the Yotsuba who wants my attention for an hour or so. Trying to find a cure could take far, far longer, _and_ it would cut in the time I'm supposed to be watching you."

"So… I know she never treated you right, but does that mean you don't want to save Oka-sama?"

Tatsuya froze at the way Miyuki's voice shook while she spoke, and immediately made eye contact with her distraught, hopeless expression.

"I didn't say that," he was quick to affirm. "You asked me why I didn't think Oba-yue would let me try to help Oka-sama, and I believe that is the answer…. I would do anything for you; if you want me to try and save her, I don't mind trying to do so without letting Oba-yue find out."

Miyuki thought over his suggestion for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I don't want your position in the family to be threatened again by my actions and desires-"

"They can't get rid of me completely. There is too much fear for what I could do as an enemy, so they won't-"

"But I can't abandon all the people here. I can't abandon the guardians and our cousins and all the people who are my friends in the family. And, if you stay here, they can easily make your life much more difficult. Don't lie to me, I know Oba-yue makes you do things sometimes!"

Tatsuya did not deny her claim. After a shaky breath, Miyuki wiped the tears forming in her eyes and continued.

"No, I'll talk to Oba-yue. I'll make her see reason. Once I explain why to her, I'm sure she'll let you try to save Oka-sama. I know it'll… please, at least let me try."

Tatsuya's expression was one of utter shock, but he relaxed and nodded. "I could never refuse you anything."

A calm sense of peace flooded Miyuki at his words, and she allowed herself to finally relax; she should have known Tatsuya would follow her desire.

"Miyuki…" Tatsuya began with unusual uncertainty. "I'm just guessing from what I've seen, but… have you been getting into contact with Uryu Hattori? And his friends?"

"Er… I suppose?"

"I'm just… I'm slightly concerned about some of the things they've done recently. It would normally be fine, but I'm worried they only approached you because of some sort of fascination with me-"

"I know," Miyuki calmly countered, the mirror image of most of the sibling's conversations. "I'm going to try to be careful with what they ask me for, and I'm watching them closely. They're offering me things I want, so I do think I'm going to stay in contract, but I'll continue double checking most of what they tell me. Besides, I think, at least for now, our goals are aligned."

Laughing slightly at his foolishness, Tatsuya nodded and accepted her answer. It was so easy for him to forget that - given her relatives and position - it was impossible for Miyuki to have grown up without the ability to hide her true power behind an adorable smile. He did not believe she truly understood what Uryu was trying to do, but if she suspected everything he tried and their goals were parallel it would be fine.

Provided, of course, that Tatsuya was able to keep his aunt from finding out; he had trouble believing their goals were anything good for the Yotsuba family.

As Miyuki turned back to her work, Tatsuya turned and left the room, a contemplative expression on his face. It would appear the first thing he had to do was research his mother's illness. Maybe, once Miyuki finished talking to their aunt about it, he could look through Kokonoe Yakumo's library for inspiration.

Miyuki's request or not, it would certainly be an interesting challenge.

* * *

Judging by the gleeful expressions on her friends' faces, Miyuki could say with confidence that her party was off to a great start. In fact, there was only one person who seemed to not be enjoying himself: Tatsuya. Miyuki glanced away from her friends, casting a regretful look towards her brother. While he was the only boy, Miyuki knew that was not the problem; Tatsuya just got no pleasure from the things normal children liked to do.

Despite desperately wanting everyone in the room to enjoy themselves, Miyuki did not know what she could do to help her brother. It would be very, very hard to surpass the experience of being invited to the Okinawa military base.

"Oh, Miyuki, Chandra's here!" one of her friends called out, distracting Miyuki from her thoughts. Putting on her best stage smile, Miyuki walked over to greet her new guest.

"Hi Miyuki!" Chandra squeaked out, "This looks like a- a lot of fun."

"Thank you, and thanks for coming," Miyuki suddenly paused, inspiration striking her in a flash. "I know you're not close to many of the people here, so maybe you can make some new friends. Or, if you want to, you can go talk with my brother. You know him from that one party, right? I think he's a little shy."

Chandra relaxed greatly at the warm introduction, but tensed up slightly at the mention of Tatsuya. In an unusual burst of bravery, she forced herself to smile and nod.

"Yeah, I saw him there. Maybe I'll try talking to him for a bit and then join the rest of you in the fair if he doesn't seem like he wants to join us."

"That'd be great! I've tried and a few of my friends have tried, but none of us were able to politely make him agree to joining the group," Miyuki explained. "I wish you luck."

"Thanks."

With cautious steps as if approaching a wild beast, Chandra slowly made her way to Tatsuya. Despite her best efforts, the shaky smile on her face did nothing to hide her fear. Once she stepped within twenty meters of the boy, he paused in his reading and turned to look directly at her.

Chandra froze, for a moment not daring to breathe. For a moment, all Chandra could see was the video of Tatsuya fighting and demolishing the group of upperclassmen. For that moment, her body was flooded with fear. If stopping her heartbeat would have kept the terrifying magician from noticing her, she would have tried to.

Finally, she looked up with a nervous laugh.

"Um, well, see I'm-I'm a guest of Miyuki's at her party… which you probably already know, um, she just… asked me to invite you to, see we're-" Chandra paused, taking a deep breath like Uryu had taught her. "Would you like to join us at any of the games? You don't have to, but you… look lonely?"

Please say no, please say no, please say no.

He considered her for a moment, then made quick glances between her and Miyuki. Weirdly, his eyes immediately found her, regardless of the crowd; she wondered if he already knew where she was.

"...Yes, please. I would be happy to join you, if you wouldn't mind the company. I've been getting a little bored by myself, but didn't really know how to approach anyone."

Chandra could not shake the feeling that him being bored, lonely, or shy had nothing to do with the reason he had agreed to go with her. Feeling suspiciously like she was making a dangerous mistake, Chandra nodded, smiled, and began walking to the games.

"It's… no… problem."

The pair walked in silence as they approached the crowd, neither really knowing the other well enough for a friendly chat. Chandra, having no idea what Tatsuya would enjoy - somehow, despite being technically her age, any game seemed far too immature for him - tried to let him lead. If she followed him, she could gain information about his preferences and use it against him. Her plan was thwarted as he simply continued to follow her.

If they continued trying to follow each other, they were never going to get anywhere; Chandra turned to face him.

"Is there… anything you want to see or try? I-you can take the first pick."

"Oh, I don't mind, I'm perfectly happy following you. You invited me to join you, after all. I'd feel bad if our interests conflicted and you chose something you didn't want just for me."

Once again, Chandra's instincts flared up and screamed at her that something weird was going on. She still had no idea what his motivations were in joining her, and she was beginning to fear the answer. For a moment Chandra considered simply running, but she knew she still had the job Uryu wanted her to do. So long as she stayed a foot or two away from him, it would be fine.

"Wa-well… I would kinda enjoy just walking around and looking at what sort of things there are around here…. We could talk while we walk, if-if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Tatsuya chose a direction and began to walk. "What would you like to talk about?"

Once again, Chandra considered running, but was able to talk herself out of it.

"Er-I guess I'd be interested to know what you… think about magicians…."

"Magicians?"

Chandra took a deep breath; this was her chance to see if the conflict between them could be solved through non-violent means.

"Yeah. I mean, most of them are fine, of course, but the really dangerous ones. Would you-do you think they're… people who should be given rights, or monsters who should be locked up?"

Suddenly, Tatsuya focused in on her, raising an eyebrow in a disbelieving expression.

" _You_ don't think magicians deserve to be a part of society?"

From the why he said it, Chandra momentarily panicked; there was no way he could _know_ her family had magicians, right? With their lack of powerful backing, it was easier to keep their status a secret in case any magician protest groups wanted an easy target. But what else could Tatsuya have meant?

"Er-no! It's just the most powerful magicians who… scare me. Normal magicians are completely fine!"

"I see. And where is that line divided?"

Despite Tatsuya's calm, unjudging tone, Chandra could not help but feel like she was being tested. She calmed herself; she had a job as the Commander of CAD Research. No matter how much she wanted to back out, staying strong was the right thing to do.

"...That's a little… hard for me to tell. I can usually tell after seeing what they're capable of, but judging just based off a description or look is difficult. Though I bet Uryu could do it."

The last sentence had been whispered at a volume not meant to be heard, but Tatsuya's trained eyes easily determined her meaning by reading her lips. The sentence had been a mix of self-loathing and deep respect for the boy; Tatsuya would have to keep that in mind when dealing with her.

"Uryu Hattori, you mean?"

The sudden flinch Chandra experienced was enough to cause her to miss-step and trip over her own two feet. She would have crashed onto the floor if Tatsuya had not reacted by catching her.

Now, most girls would be embarrassed to be pulled into a boy's arms - or annoyed at the cliche - and the boy being Tatsuya would only amplify the effects. For most.

Chandra, on the other hand, felt nothing but paralyzing fear at the close proximity. She froze in his arms, but felt herself shaking slightly in her fear.

She had a duty: a duty to fight, a duty to stay strong, a duty to resist. But, laying in Tatsuya's arms, all she could think about was how easy it would be for him to kill her. They were at a party, but in a far-off corner of the room. He could use magic to kill her instantly. It would not even have to be magic; she had seen what he did to the high-schoolers. He was standing right next to her; his arms were around her. He could squeeze just a little tighter and pull her in and crush her lungs and use magic and destroy her mind and erase her or burn her or drown her or freeze her or break her or starve her-

Chandra could not breathe. She tried to take more breaths, but her body was running out of air.

Was this Tatsuya's magic? Had he already decided to act? He was going to kill her, and no one was powerful enough to stop him. He could destroy the world, _nothing_ was powerful enough to stop him.

Chandra tried to push away and stand, but could not keep her balance. Tatsuya caught her again, and he was close - _too close_ \- and grabbing her - _no escape_ \- and holding her - would he _break_ her? - and looking at her.

He was watching. Observing. Inspecting. If he could see her, there was nothing to stop him from using magic. Was he already? Where was her breath? Was her heart still beating? Chandra was dizzy, was it _him_? Why did she think this was a good idea? She was just _Chandra_ \- stupid Chandra who was _too shy_ to talk right - what could she do against a monst-

"Chandra!" Tatsuya's shout broke off her train of thought, and she abruptly realized he had been screaming her name for several minutes. She was kneeling on the ground - when had _that_ happened? - and Tatsuya had moved a few feet away from her.

"I-what?" Chandra asked, not knowing what she was asking.

"You had a panic attack," Tatsuya calmly answered. "I apologize, I shouldn't have grabbed you without your permission. Do you need some water?"

"No."

"...Alright."

The silence returned as Chandra remained kneeling and leaning over as if in a bow. It took a few moments for the nausea to fade, but Chandra finally looked up again, and paled at what she saw.

Tatsuya. She had just let _Tatsuya_ know about the Resistance Committee. Not in so many words, but he would have no doubt his classmates no longer trusted him.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No. Sorry, it-I just-"

"It's fine. I'll… try not to get close again."

An awkward silence returned and filled the air as both kids looked away from each other to avoid making eye contact. Even though Tatsuya had returned to his nearly-emotionless state, it was clear he was still slightly startled by what had just occurred.

Perhaps because of that, when Chandra stood to walk back to the others, Tatsuya did nothing to obstruct her path. As soon as she was out of his range of hearing, Chandra walked into an alley between games and pulled out her phone.

She had a report to give Uryu.

* * *

The girls at Miyuki's party had waved at her openly when she approached, and easily invited her to join the party. It was easier to interact with them now that Uryu had given her some advice on not stuttering, but it was still a challenge for Chandra - especially while she was distracted.

Her call with Uryu had gone unexpectedly, to say the least. He knew she was at the party, so when she started stumbling over her words he offered to let her come to his house later and give a full report in person.

As Chandra was fairly certain she was in no danger, she had agreed. There was only one problem: she had no idea what she could do to gather information. Of the agents, she was - by far - one of the most experienced in the battle against Tatsuya. Among people with _zero_ experience, it suddenly sounded much less impressive.

Still, she had a job to do, and disappointing Uryu was not an option.

When Miyuki and Chandra became coincidentally paired for the spinning teacups, the later girl took it as her moment to strike. Making her voice as casual as she could - which was not much, given her weakness to spinning rides - Chandra probed for information.

"Your Mom's not-not here today?" While embarrassing, Chandra excused the stutter in her voice; she had no chance of speaking normally in her current situation.

"No, she's been sick for a while, but don't worry about it. I have an idea - actually, Uryu suggested it - and I think it'll all be fine now. And my Dad's constantly at work, so there was basically no chance he was coming to this party… I'm pretty sure he doesn't even have an invitation."

And of _course_ the perfectly-sculpted angel among humanity would be able to go on spinning rides without feeling sick. It seemed impossible for someone to be so flawless, but Tatsuya was equally unnatural in his own way; their parents were probably a gods or demons, based on the result.

"You don't look too good. Would you like us to stop? I don't mind."

"I… could I keep talking to you?"

"Sure," Miyuki agreed, allowing the ride to come to a stop. The two girls sat in the now-still teacup as the other guests continued to spin around them, allowing a bit of privacy.

"Th-Thank you, sorry about.. that," Chandra said, then relaxed and muttered, "You and your brother are really amazing."

"Aw, thank you," Miyuki responded even though Chandra had not intended to be heard. "Well, I have a few talents, but it's my brother who's really amazing."

"I bet, he's basically the best at everything he tries to do."

"Yes," Miyuki immediately agreed, blushing slightly in her happiness. "And there are so many things he's capable of that he doesn't let anyone know about. As far as I can tell, he only has one flaw!"

"A weakness?" Chandra leaned forward, interested. "Is it, um, possible other people might use that against… us when we try to make Tatsuya's true abilities known?"

Miyuki immediately deflated, then thought for a moment before nodding. "It's definitely possible. See, my brother is great at pretty much everything he tries, but has… a bit of trouble with other people. He can be intimidating and the family is… less warm to him than I'd like them to be. My cousins are okay, but my mom, dad, aunt, and some of the servants are biased, scared, narrow-minded idiots when it comes to him."

"Your aunt?"

Once again, Miyuki seemed hesitant to speak; her aunt was obviously a complicated topic. Chandra, not wanting to test the limits of her new friendship, quickly changed the topic.

"So, um… why doesn't Tatsuya join any sports teams? I mean, we've all seen him with basketball and even the martial arts in PE and-" Chandra awkwardly stopped herself, remembering Miyuki did not know about Tatsuya's fight with the highschool students. "And stuff. Is he too busy?"

"No, not really, he just doesn't care. At home he does some martial arts training, but doesn't really take part in any ball-sports or competitions."

Chandra could certainly believe that. She would have to tell Uryu their theory he was born with the ability to fight programed into his DNA was wrong, but overall it was about what they had expected.

"Miyuki-sama," the conversation came to a halt as a thin man with beady eyes spoke. "I apologize for interrupting, but your aunt has come."

"Oba-yue?" Miyuki questioned, turning to fully face the butler. "Why is she here?"

"I do not know, but she will likely arrive in the next five minutes. I suggest you prepare to great her."

"Of course," she agreed, then stood with a grace Chandra could only imitate in her wildest dreams. "I'll go prepare myself. Please let her in for me."

As the man nodded and silently left, Miyuki stood up and began to make herself more presentable. Straightening her clothes and smoothing her hair seemed unnecessary to Chandra, but she supposed someone as rich as Miyuki's aunt might be more observant.

Miyuki left to wait by the door and, after hesitating a moment, Chandra followed. For one minute, the pair stood by the door, Miyuki's obvious nervousness transfering to Chandra as well. .

"Um… are you okay?" Chandra finally asked.

Miyuki immediately jumped, turning to Chandra with wide, fear-filled eyes. Once she realized who had spoken, she managed to calm herself and not look like she was about to take off running anymore.

"Oh… nothing. Nothing at all, I'm just… I've gotten a lot better at talking to my aunt, and Onii-sama has helped me quite a bit. But that's always in the house, I never really see her in public. I guess I'm just a bit worried about her… intentions in coming today."

Chandra was kind enough not to mention how stupidly vague and unhelpful the Shiba girl's explanation was. It honestly made no sense how someone could be so comfortable around the monster that was her brother, but so terrified about seeing her aunt.

Could her aunt be even worse?

Chandra had trouble believing that, but supposed she could only wait and see. As a last resort - and only if she felt there was really no other choice - Chandra might be able to use her magic to escape. She was not the best at magic, but she was definitely much better than a non-magician; she would probably be fine if her only opponent was her classmates' human aunt.

Still, Miyuki's clenched hands and slight shake were making her nervous.

Finally, the doors were pulled open and a woman entered. It was difficult to tell what she looked like - she wore a large black hat which covered her face -, but Chandra could tell she was beautiful.

Reaching the floor, she wore a flowing dress of night: a deep, navy blue waterfall that glided over the ground she walked on. Her skin was pale in a way that reminded Chandra of a vampire; the magenta jacket and coal-black hat only added to the supernatural impression.

Her hair was an almost-purple shade of midnight, reaching all the way down her back. It was like a cape for a hero or queen, expressing her power with ease.

No, that was a bit off, it was not the cape of a hero; her cruel look of amusement at Miyuki's stress was far more at place on a villain. Chandra tensed as the woman walked closer.

"Hello, Miyuki."

"Oba-yue. I wasn't expecting you at all! This is a pleasant surprise, though perhaps you could warn me next time. I'm afraid, given the short warning, I was unable to prepare anything for you on your visit. It isn't much, but I have some drinks and snacks you can try if you're planning on staying."

Chandra was floored; Miyuki sounded completely and totally honest. If Chandra could not see her clenched hands, Miyuki's charisma alone might have been able to make her buy into the act.

Unfortunately, it seemed Miyuki's aunt was not so easily persuaded.

"Good work, Miyuki. Actually, I mostly came to see your brother. Do you know how his research into his project has been going? His plan intrigued me."

While Miyuki tried to hide it, not even Chandra could miss how her body suddenly tensed the second Tatsuya was mentioned. And if _she_ noticed, Chandra was sure Miyuki's aunt had also seen the girl's reaction.

Miyuki was the class's queen, their fairy - their goddess. With the amount of charisma she had, it was impossible to be jealous of her. In the end, it was not _her_ fault she had been tricked into loving her brother, it was Tatsuya's. If Miyuki was (albeit unknowingly) helping them take down the threat of Tatsuya Shiba, then it would not be right for Chandra to leave her fellow agent in such a stressful situation.

"Tatsuya's-" Chandra cut off, barely able to breathe when the woman turned her attention towards her. "He… he's reading a book over there… we were taking a walk together earlier, so I don't think he's gotten super far in it yet."

For a moment the woman paused, her gaze tracing Chandra's finger to the spot where Tatsuya sat. The silence unnerved Chandra, and she could not help but feel like the woman was contemplating whether Chandra was helpful enough to excuse the rude interruption. The agent resolutely ignored the treacherous part of her brain asking what would happen if she was not.

"...Thank you, sweetie. That was very helpful."

As the woman left, the pressure decreased and Chandra felt her body go slack in relief. Immediately, she turned to Miyuki, hoping to calm the girl who looked at her with shock at the betrayal.

"I'll-I'll go after… after her. She'll probably be watching you, but I can go over and intervene if things get too bad. Please, um, don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"I… I'm not sure that would work. She-"

"Well, we won't know until we try," Chandra replied, faking with a bravado she was sure was going to get her killed. And besides, it was more than helping her friend. She had realized something about the woman.

"...Fine, but… let me help. Your family has magic, right?"

"How do you-"

"My family has sources," Miyuki smiled, giving a cute wink despite the tense situation. "Let me help you with something my brother taught me recently."

The last bit made Chandra want to refuse on principle, but before she could speak Miyuki had pulled out her CAD and activated the magic.

Chandra had never seen something cast a spell so fast - not even her parents.

There was no obvious difference Chandra could feel at first, but when she stepped back in confusion she realized what Miyuki had done: her footsteps were completely silent.

"I've basically erased your presence. It'll wear off in a few minutes, but, even if they register you, my aunt and brother won't view you as a threat. It'll at least buy me enough time to convince them not to hurt you."

Chandra nodded, taking a deep breath. She appreciated the help, and knew she would need everything she could get for what she was about to do. Tatsuya was there, but she had also realized something about the woman. As a member of the committee, and an important official at that, Chandra had made it her job to research magic. And, when Chandra had looked at the woman under the hat, she realized she recognized her.

The Shiba's aunt was Yotsuba Maya.

* * *

Uryu jolted in surprise as his phone rang, then scrunched his eyebrows in confusion when he realized Chandra was calling him. He had just received his last report half and hour ago, and it seemed odd for her to call instead of just texting the information.

"It's Uryu. Why are you-"

" _Uryu_."

"I-Chandra?" he asked, slightly embarrassed at the unexpected flip of stuttering between the two.

"I-sorry-I need you to listen to me. I was at the Shiba party - which you already knew, but… anyways- Miyuki's aunt came and made her really stressed and it turned out she was here to talk to Tatsuya, so I directed her Tatsuya's way, but I could-I saw under her hat, and-"

"What?"

"She's _Yotsuba Maya_ , Uryu! Their aunt is the head of the Yotsuba family!"

" _...she does not have any children herself, but her sister has children…" Miyuki informed them._

Oh. That would explain the sudden call.

"I… what are you doing now?"

"Miyuki did some magic-thing to me - I'll tell you later - and now I'm going to watch them. I hid in the trees, so I can see everything that's happening."

"Switch to a video call. I want to watch," Uryu ordered.

He leaned back in his chair, intently observing as a woman with a large black hat approached the subject, who glanced up from his notebook unsurprised.

"Did you really have to scare Miyuki, Oba-yue?" he asked, setting his book down and sitting up straight. It was then that the woman laughed, and the sound of cruel, insane _pleasure_ at her niece's suffering seemed to taint the area.

"If you really thought she was in any danger, you would have interfered. As you didn't, I assume you must have realized she would be in far more pain later if you had gotten involved. That, or you knew I came because I wanted to speak with you."

Tatsuya only glared in response.

Uryu, however, was frozen in fear. The Yotsuba never did public speeches, so he had never heard her voice before. It was smooth and calm, exactly what one would expect from the leader of the Yotsuba. But it was also far more terrifying than such a pleasant voice should have been.

There was a dark edge to it; an air of indifference; she was only pretending to put any traces of sympathy into her voice because she enjoyed the reactions it caused. It had the same unsympathetic emptiness as Tatsuya's could, but contained an unhidden amount of glee which told him more than he wanted to know.

"So, my darling nephew, how has your research gone? While it would be unfortunate if you actually managed to save my sister, I'm curious about the breakthroughs you could make for us in medical magic. It would greatly benefit the family if you became an expert."

"...I'm doing this for Miyuki, not for you," Tatsuya responded, and Uryu barely registered that the conversation implied Miyuki had taken his advice for her sick mom. "I have a few theories that might work, and a few other ideas. I think it might be possible to create a form of mental-magic defense, but research on curing Oka-sama is much harder. She's a rare case; I don't have much data to go on, The time limit imposed on this is also something to consider when planning."

"I see. Well, I'm sure you'll figure something out. Your brain has always been _fascinating_ ," Maya acknowledged as she began walking closer to him. Tatsuya glared at the floor in annoyance, but flinched slightly when she reached out and tilted his chin up.

His wide eyes quickly calmed, but told Uryu in volumes how dangerous that woman was.

"It's almost a shame we need to chain you to that girl at all."

"You're… angry," Tatsuya said, the sheer shock in his voice confusing Uryu. "I see, you don't want Okaa-san to live. You… don't want me to succeed."

"I don't," Maya agreed. "And don't you understand? You're the _only one_ who understands. She used her magic to change us, to kill the people we were. Don't you think she _deserves_ to die?"

Tatsuya remained silent, continuing to glare as he was forced to look into her eyes. The two remained frozen in eye contact, having some sort of battle Uryu could not comprehend through the screen.

"Ah, of course," Maya muttered in a barely-audible whisper, "It doesn't matter what you think, you're just her tool. She asked you to, so you will."

Her arm relaxed and dropped, but Tatsuya continued to look her in the eyes. Another silent conversation passed between them, frustrating Uryu.

"Oba-yue," Tatsuya's calm voice began, "We both know you won't go against Miyuki or me over this, and we both know that - unless you can genuinely change Miyuki's mind - I won't stop. Is there any point in continuing this charade of threats?"

"I suppose not. Well, my darling nephew and niece are reason enough to accept tolerating my sister for a little longer. If, of course, you manage to succeed at keeping her alive."

Without another word, the head of the Yotsuba family turned on her heel and left the party with her guards. However, as she was leaving, she gave a quick glance Chandra's direction, chuckling as she left.

She had noticed Chandra.

She had seen Chandra.

Chandra was in danger.

Uryu's breath picked up, and he silently prayed to Miyuki that she could back up her promise of keeping Chandra safe. Uryu, still shocked, remained in his seat for a full minute before he relaxed and realized Chandra had not spoken a word since the magicians began talking.

"Chandra? Are you okay?"

"...I… no, you… didn't you feel… _it_?"

"The tension?"

"No, the-the pressure. The whole world was weighing down on me as they spoke to each other. I could… their glares… it was… the sky turned dark and all other sound left and I was staring-"

"Staring monsters in the eyes," Uryu finished, breathless. While he could not feel it on the other side of the screen as well, he had experienced what she was describing once before.

The day it all started on the basketball courts. The day Tatsuya's disguise had cracked. Then, when the man was at their school, the act had snapped.

Both Yotsuba Maya and Tatsuya Shiba had undoubtedly killed people before. They were beings who brought fear, despair and death with them wherever they went.

And now, with Chandra, they had another victim.

* * *

Unlike the previous meetings - full of bravado and posturing and excitement - the meeting between the three most dedicated committee members took on a somber tone. Chandra, Uryu and Yuusuke all sat in Uryu's kitchen, looking down with worried expressions as Uryu's sister passed out snacks.

"Um… are you three okay?"

Yuusuke looked up and faked a not-very-convincing smile, nodding to the teen.

"Yeah, thanks Mion-nee. We're just a little… stressed."

"Mmhm," Mion hummed and ignored Uryu's leave-right-now-you're-embarrassing-me glare. "Well, call me if you need anything, I'll be in the office doing homework."

"""Okay,""" the three children agreed with varying levels of enthusiasm. They waited in silence for the older girl to leave, refusing to relax until they heard the door click shut.

Taking a steadying breath, Uryu cleared his throat to get his companions' attention.

"...So, as it currently stands, only the three of us have ever witnessed Tatsuya without his mask. Second-in-Command Officer Yuusuke and I saw it when an unknown man was at school; Commander-of CAD-Research Chandra saw it when the subject confronted his aunt. Second-in-Command, you've been shown and given a brief on the video of said event?"

"I have. It… does raise quite a few questions, but there aren't many answers in the video. I wasn't able to see under the hat to confirm what Chandra said."

"I-maybe, but I'm pretty sure I know what I saw. It-she looked similar… to the pictures of Yotsuba Maya."

A pensive silence passed over the trio, each mentally considering the implications of their discovery. If it was true, then there was a chance the subject was an even greater threat than previously assumed.

"Chandra," Uryu called, "We saw the video, but it was pretty low-quality. I have my own suspicions, but… how would you say the two acted around each other?"

After a few seconds of thought, Chandra answered, "It was weird. At first, it seemed like she was - I mean, in a way she actually was - but anyone could see she was threatening him. If anything, it seemed like she was almost using Miyuki as a bargaining chip when talking to Tatsuya. He was doing things to protect Miyuki, and while his aunt didn't want to hurt Miyuki, she was willing to do it to ensure Tatsuya's cooperation."

"So even a monster like him can't resist the magic of Miyuki Shiba," Uryu muttered. "But then she sorta lost, right? It seemed like she wasn't able to make him stop doing whatever they were talking about."

"Y-yeah," a deep breath. "I didn't really feel like she _could_ hurt Tatsuya. It just seemed like she was willing to go against him if it… if it meant the death of his mom."

"That family makes no sense," Yuusuke grumbled, causing both Chandra and Yuusuke to give frustrated nods of agreement.

"So, uh, is there anything we actually _know_ from the video? I mean, other than that their aunt is super creepy and really intrudes on his personal space when she wants something from him."

"Well… let me try something," Uryu turned and pulled up a holographic tab to play a video. Both of his subordinates leaned forward in confusion as they watched the video load.

"...and the conference will-"

*BOOM*

The interviewer's words were cut off as a loud explosion appeared in the conference. He she turned to look as a different news anchor began running forward to get a better look at the scene, causing her to follow.

While blurry, unfocused, and messy due to all the dust in the air, the Yotsuba assassin holding the man before him down was easy to see.

Raven hair, lithe body, sun glasses, martial arts, too young - a child - too skilled, _Tatsuya_.

In hindsight, it seemed so obvious. Of course anyone that dangerous would _have_ to be Tatsuya; Chandra had specifically explained most magicians were nowhere near as powerful. Of course any child who could take down an adult would have to be him; both Yuusuke and Uryu had seen him do it once before. Of course it was Tatsuya Shiba; who else could it have possibly been?

"...Okay, so it's… good that we know now," Yuusuke summarized. "What does this tell us?"

"That their relationship is really, _really_ weird," Uryu confidently explained. "I mean, if we look at the facts it's clear: she has no regard for his personal space, especially with the whole make-him-look-at-her thing. What else?"

"She knows how powerful he is. I mean, she seemed completely sure she couldn't stop him and was fine with letting him be her only bodyguard."

"Ah, right. So she's okay with having him do jobs for her, but he doesn't… have to? He's like, still under her but almost her equal and she loves him but is also a little scared? Is that their relationship?"

"...What if he's her heir?" Uryu whispered, the weight of the possibilities crashing down on him. "Like, we have no idea how much Miyuki's involved with all this, but it's possible one of them will take over the Yotsuba family. She said Maya had no children."

"But Miyuki said their family didn't like Tatsuya!" Chandra reminded the boys. "It doesn't make any sense for him to be her heir and not be loved by the family."

"No…" Yuusuke shook his head. "It's possible. I mean, she specifically implied they don't like him because they fear him and his power. Yotsuba Maya, for all that she holds her family's respect, scares even her own family, if my sources are right. Based on Miyuki's reaction to her aunt, I'd be willing to bet they are."

"So, what?" Uryu demanded, his voice dropping to a growl. "The two of them think they can go around terrorizing everyone? They scared Miyuki this time too! They really just don't _care_ whose lives they destroy with their power. Are we supposed to just sit around and ignore how these people - these _things_ \- are working together to terrify even their own family into submission?"

"Didn't we agree that we don't think they're working together?" Chandra asked, clearly remembering her experience watching the two beings stare each other down.

"Hey, Uryu, calm down," Yuusuke similarly objected. "Let's not do anything rash, okay. I get how you feel, but we haven't really done research and, you know, there isn't much we can do right now."

Uryu sat up and glared at his companions, reading the emotions in their eyes.

"Please, you're both just scared!"

"Yeah, we _all_ are."

"Well… yeah, I know we are. I know we did this meeting because we know they're people we need to be careful of and fear, but just _talking_ isn't going to help. Let's talk to the committee and get something to happen! Indirectly hasn't worked, maybe it's time for a direct confrontation."

"Uryu, don't be rash," Yuusuke warned. "We can't just go up to him and start lecturing him about everything he's done, and I doubt that would do anything anyways. All the agents mentioned it, right? He's gotten much better at controlling his act."

"Yeah, and it's dangerous," Chandra readily agreed. "If he really is the Yotsuba assassin, the only way you could really make it worth it would be if you could get him to attack you with witnesses, and that isn't worth maybe losing your limbs! We'll just… keep doing what we've been doing."

While she had managed to support him without stuttering in the past, Uryu was slightly surprised to find she could object to his ideas in the same tone. That surprise, however, was quickly replaced with annoyance.

"Come on Chandra, he's just getting more and more victims every day. We need to do _something_!"

"Er- but-"

"Come on, I'm the leader of the operation! I want to do things this way!"

"I-"

"Are you kids alright?" a voice yelled from a nearby room, reminding the trio of the teenager's presence. "I heard some yelling over there."

"""We're fine!"""

The three children stared at each other, still in disagreement over the situation. Finally, in one last hope of convincing Uryu, Yuusuke once again tried to appeal to the logical side of things.

"Uryu, think about it. What will happen if you're in a public place, start goding him, and he tries to hurt you. We don't have any actual _training_ , but he does. The pedestrians and innocent people watching won't be able to stop a monster like him, and even if they spread the information… the Yotsuba family is too powerful to beat at thins kind of information game; we have to work in the shadows."

"But we're the good guys!" Uryu reminded them, "We're not supposed to be hiding and working in the shadows, we're supposed to be supported by the public. Sure, they've brainwashed most adults, but we'll never make any real progress if it's still just us. Can't you imagine it? A whole squad of police and section of the army and other countries and other magicians all working under us? That's what we'll need to beat them."

For a moment, the two agents opposed to the idea were lost in the fantasy Uryu described: having the authority and power to order the adults who had not believed them when they described Tatsuya. But, before they could fall too deep into their dreams, the vision of a genuinely angry Tatsuya shook them out of it.

"It's still… really risky and dangerous. You can't do it."

Chandra glanced nervously at Uryu, hoping he wouldn't explode at Yuusuke's statement. Her fears were met when, abruptly, Uryu stood up and glared.

"Just watch me."

* * *

Tatsuya remained uncharacteristically distracted as the teacher reminded them of their approaching end-of-the-school -year exams. It would be nearly impossible to tell just by looking at him, but his mind was impatiently considering one thing: Uryu Hattori.

The other boy was glaring at him like he was the single greatest cause of world suffering - which, unfortunately, was fairly common - but something had changed. When Tatsuya arrived at school, he had found a note addressed addressed to "the Shiba brother," asking for a time to meet.

Well, actually, it was more a note demanding he go to a location at a specific time so they could "speak," but Uryu was still a child, so Tatsuya thought he could ignore the rude tone. Besides, he was interested in what Uryu would have to say to him; maybe the situation could be resolved by talking.

All day, members of the group had been staring at him with some combination of anger and fear, almost sending them right back to the day of the basketball game. As Tatsuya could not recall anything warranting the response, he was uncomfortably confused about the whole thing.

Unfortunately for him, Miyuki had noticed the plethora of attention he was getting from various members of the class. It was good that her social awareness - that, one day, would become political - was increasing, but it had been difficult for Tatsuya to come up with a lie on the spot.

Now, granted, he could have just _told_ her what was happening, but he knew she did not deserve that. He was aware of his sister's close associates; he could not tell her to hate and distrust her _friends_ who only feared him because of a mistake _he_ made. So, now Miyuki would be waiting for Tatsuya to politely refuse someone's invitation to an amateur robotics engineering club.

Tatsuya barely withheld a dramatic sigh; the only good thing that had happened that day was realizing that, with the end of the year approaching, he would soon be able to spend time away from all the children in the ridiculous committee. If they were not exposed to him, then (hopefully) they would lose interest in their us-versus-him game.

Suddenly, the bell rang, breaking off his train of thought. The instant the sound was heard, Uryu all but leapt up from his seat and sprinted out the door.

Personally, Tatsuya could not decide whether to be amused or offended by Uryu's poor attempts at making his organization "secret."

After calmly packing up his school supplies, Tatsuya strolled to the specified location. The place the note had chosen was a classroom without a last period, so they were unlikely to be interrupted. While not the worst attempt he had made, it surprised him how comfortable Uryu was being alone with a "monster."

As he entered, he saw the boy's main line of defense in the form of a large broom he kept next to himself. That, and the phone he had to call for help, were the only weapons Uryu believed he needed to deal with Tatsuya.

Okay, forget amused; no self-respecting Yotsuba assassin could look at that and _not_ be offended. Tatsuya even used elemental sight to check for traps in case Uryu was just lowering his guard, but found nothing that counted. What was he thinking?

"...You wanted to talk?"

"Y-Yeah, I wanted to talk," Uryu glared, his growl and body language proving the inferno of anger behind his actions. "Why don't we start off with this: how can you keep coming to school and acting normally after what you did to Chandra? Don't you feel anything?"

For a moment, Tatsuya had no idea what Uryu was talking about. Yes, he had scared Chandra slightly at the party, but he had trouble believing Uryu could get so angry over Tatsuya trying to help her. Chandra seemed aware her panic attack was more about her than it was about Tatsuya; there was no reason for Uryu to act like this.

"I'm not sure what you're referring to."

"Not sure?!" Uryu repeated in scandalized shock. "What, can the Yotsuba see no faults in their demon of a leader? You and your aunt just can't do _any_ wrong because you're powerful, is that it?!"

Now, for the first time, Uryu was able to see what he had been searching for: Tatsuya in pure, unfiltered shock. It was covered up in an instant.

"I'm sorry, Yotsuba?" Tatsuya asked in the most convincingly confused expression Uryu had ever seen. "I'm even more lost now."

"Oh, so no one can possibly be smart enough to figure that out because we're not as smart as you? Stop looking down on humans like that!"

"I'm not trying to-"

"Do you have any idea how obvious it is?! It's _you_ , of _course_ you'd be related! And there was the conference thing - a whole family of emotionless monsters who allow even their closest family to suffer!"

A sharp intake of breath; he was finally starting to break through Tatsuya's shell. Unfortunately, Uryu was too wrapped up in his own anger to notice.

"You and your aunt… do you really think you can do anything you want to? Well, you've never been stopped before, so I'm not surprised! What could the fears of petty _humans_ possibly mean to evil gods?!"

Once again, Tatsuya froze; he had never been trained on dealing with this sort of situation, and he had never expected to be so shocked by words. Because, knowing how Miyuki felt about the situation, being thought of as the same as his aunt _scared_ him.

"I… could you please just explain what this-"

" _No_! If we're not even important enough for you to remember traumatizing her, then it shouldn't matter! You and your aunt can just go back to staring each other down with _no_ regard for us humans!"

At the words "staring each other down" Tatsuya suddenly remembered how Chandra had watched their interactions at Miyuki's party. Miyuki had asked him not to worry about her, and Tatsuya had thought Chandra would be too far away to feel the bloodlust they were generating.

Was Uryu right? Did he just not understand the abilities of - for lack of a better term - civilians? Maybe he had not perfected his social mask to the degree he had thought he had.

"I apologize, that was not my intention."

"It's what you did! And what? You think Miyuki'd be okay with you doing this to her guests - her _friends_? Chandra got almost no sleep last night because of you! You're terrifying! Miyuki needs to be separated from you and your aunt for her own good!"  
This time, Tatsuya could not stop his anger from showing on his expression. Uryu's demeanor changed to that of a predator; he had found a weakness.

"You know your aunt's dangerous to have around Miyuki, can you really say you're any different?"

"Oba-yue doesn't have Miyuki's best interests at heart, I d-"

"You're both monsters! You're demons who don't belong in this universe, what difference does it make? Neither of you should be here, and neither of you should come in contact with Miyuki!"

"I'm protecting her-"

"Protecting? The most dangerous thing in this universe is you!"

"That's… not…."

For a moment, it was Uryu's turn to be surprised as, for once, Tatsuya could not deny what he said. Even the monster itself knew it was the most dangerous thing in existence. And yet, despite knowing that, it still came to a normal school every day as if it _belonged_ there.

"See? Even you know it! The _only_ thing she should have to fear is you! If you really want to protect her, do something no one else can and _kill_ the monster that's haunting people's dreams! None of us can, but it's you! You can do anything if you really want to - killing _yourself_ is no different!"

"Enough!" Tatsuya stepped back, and Uryu fell silent. At that moment, the two made eye contact. Uryu looked into Tatsuya's brilliant blue eyes, and became trapped in a hallucination.

Hundreds of soldiers ran towards him, attacking. Men roared in hate; explosions were ear-splitting; screams were resounding; shots were deafening. Their expressions had pain-fear-horror-tears- _panic_ and a blue light engulfed-surrounded-absorbed- _ate_ them and they were gone-dead-dust.

Uryu saw armies crumble; enemies rising after death; skin bubbling like slugs in salt; a blinding light shone, melting ships and land and trees and flesh-skin-bone-eyes-people.

Now, more than ever, Uryu could see the demon behind the boy.

Tatsuya bliked and stepped back, blankly observing the boy shaking before him. Uryu was kneeling on the ground, horror and tears in his eyes. Unsurprising, given what had just occurred.

While Tatsuya was doing his medical research, he had considered the possibility of using mental magic as a defense. If his emotions spiked - meaning, most likely, that Miyuki was in danger - the spell he had designed would activate, using Tatsuya's memories to attack the mind of whoever he had eye contact with.

It would appear he had made it too sensitive.

Tatsuya once again swept over Uryu with his eyes. It would be so _easy_ to kill him. There were no witnesses around; he was not resisting; Tatsuya's magic was _begging_ to be used.

 _"I don't want you to be like that."_

It would be hilariously simple, but Miyuki did not want that. She did not want people to fear him; she did not want him to kill Uryu. Killing enemies who threatened her safety was non-negotiable, but civilians who only had animosity towards him were a different story.

Perhaps, from now on, he should have a setting between ignore-the-child and eliminate-the-threat. It would be difficult to alter his strategy to focus more on pinning, but - if it was for Miyuki - he could find a way. He always did, after all.

Tatsuya turned his gaze back to the shaking boy below him and frowned. He was paying the price for his brashness, but he had learned from that. It would not happen again.

It would be easiest to bring him to the nurse's office and have Maya's magician alter his memories again, but too many times and the boys would stop trusting her. No, it was best to just have the magician discreetly erase his memories while Uryu was still frozen in fear.

Pulling out his phone, Tatsuya dialed a number he had long-since memorized when he studied his sister's acquaintances, saying, "Hello, this is Tatsuya Shiba, your classmate. I'm sorry for bothering you, but I need you to pick up your friend. I can give you the location, can you come to get him Yuusuke?"

* * *

Uryu blinked open his eyes, wondering why he was laying on an unfamiliar bed. He had vague memories of telling Tatsuya to meet him, but then - just like when he awoke in the nurse's office with Yuusuke - it became a jumbled mess of fear and panic and words that made no sense.

 _"...wanted to talk… feel anything… looking down… humans… you… your aunt… no regard… don't belong - dangerous - kill yourself-"_

 _"Enough!"_

Uryu's pulse skyrocketed as he remembered the look of Tatsuya's genuine anger. It was the real emotion he had worked so hard to get - he just could not remember what he said to make it happen. Of all the things he could have forgotten, why did it have to be Tatsuya's weakness?

After that brief cluster of memories, everything became even more confusing. He knew he had seen unimaginable horrors when Tatsuya glared. He had frozen in fear. He just had trouble remembering exactly what he had seen. It was only just out of reach, if he dug just a little deeper-

People were melting - skin off flesh - death - dust - expressions horrified-crying-terrified- frantic-hysterical-begging-please-stop-hurts- _no_ -

Uryu collapsed in on himself as he shivered; if he had any doubts as to the nature of Tatsuya's existence, this soundly solved them. The images were too blurry for being such a recent memory, but he could worry about that later. For now, he was mostly grateful his stupid, unrestrained, unfiltered anger had not gotten himself killed when he poked the sleeping dragon.

Though it did raise a question: why was he still alive? And physically uninjured too.

From what he had seen, Tatsuya had no qualms hurting people if they got on his bad side. He almost seemed _comfortable_ resorting to force to deal with a situation. What was different about his classmates? Compassion?

No. So far, Tatsuya's only motivation had always been one person: Miyuki Shiba. If Uryu was still alive after annoying Tatsuya, then that was because Miyuki wanted him to be; the supreme angel had saved him yet again.

Uryu looked up (and jumped slightly, but there's no proof) as the door was suddenly opened and Yuusuke peaked his head through the door. Now that Uryu thought about it, he recognized the room; it was Yuusuke's.

"Why am… I here?"

"I brought you," Yuusuke told him. "Do you… remember anything?"

Uryu blushed, already envisioning how Yuusuke would respond. But, regardless, Yuusuke was his second-in-command; he deserved to get the truth.

"I… gave Tatsuya a note telling him to meet with me."

"...did you."

Uryu ducked his gaze to the floor, not comfortable meeting the eyes of a Yuusuke who was starting to sound suspiciously like his sister. If the comparison continued to be accurate, this was not going to go well for him.

"Uh… yeah…. Anyways, long story short, it ended poorly. But the important thing is that I'm okay and he didn't physically hurt me and I think that all of Miyuki's classmates are safe from-"

"If he didn't physically hurt you, then what _did_ he do?"

"Umm… You know, he just… did some magic thing and scared me again."

"You were unresponsively _collapsed on the floor_ when I found you!"

"Okay, fine, I'll admit I could have planned this out better. I was just really, really angry and wanted a way to get back at him! And yeah, he won't trust me anymore, but it wasn't completely pointless-"

"We're pretty much never going to be able to catch him off guard again."

Uryu scowled, explaining, "It's not like I had any way of knowing what would happen!"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

"Really? You had _no way_ of knowing," Uryu shrunk slightly at Yuusuke's deadly glare while the boy parroted his words. "I suppose you're right, how could you have _possibly_ known how risky and dangerous this would be."

"Um, well-"

"I mean, it was _completely_ unpredictable."

"Yuusuke-"

"Just came out of the blue."

"Yuusuke, I'm sorry-"

"If only you had subordinates who specifically _told you_ what would probably happen if you went. Too bad it was just impossible for anyone to predict. Oh, wait."

An unsteady silence stretched between the pair for several seconds as Uryu tried to figure out if he was allowed to speak. Given Yuusuke's glare, Uryu decided to play it safe and remain silent until the other boy spoke again.

"He could have killed you."

Uryu's breath faltered, and Yuusuke's expression had turned into one of horror. Until then, neither of them had fully understood the gravity of what had just occurred.

Slowly, the door creaked open, and Chandra entered. Uryu assumed when Yuusuke had found him, he had alerted their colleague to the problem, but not anyone else in the committee.

"What now?" she asked, eyes darting between the boys.

After a moment's thought, Uryu made eye contact with his two followers and sat up straight, declaring, "We fight back."


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you for all the reviews. I'll try to keep some of the suggestions you've made in mind!_

* * *

Yotsuba Maya was a _very_ hard person to surprise. She controlled the most dangerous intelligence agency in the world, and was feared by civilians and criminals alike; _no one_ could ignore her power.

Only her conscious knowledge of this kept her from being embarrassed by the skyscraper of confusion that collapsed on her the moment she heard her niece's suggestion.

" _Please_ , Oba-yue?"

Maya slowly glanced to the right of Miyuki and saw Tatsuya in a similarly bowing position. This had been the last thing she expected when she was told Miyuki wanted to talk — especially considering the disagreement she had with Tatsuya over his attempt to save Miya.

They had only talked when necessary in the months following _that_ awkward exchange.

"You want a… vacation?" Maya repeated, certain she had simply misheard. It was true they were on break from school for about a month, but — given their relationship with her and how their trip to Okinawa had ended — Maya was sure Miyuki had said something else.

"Yes, please!"

Nevermind; she had apparently heard correctly. Maya once again glanced over to her nephew, frowning in pensive consideration. Despite her "request," he had continued to research the disease her sister had in hopes of finding a way to cure it, and there was very little she could do to stop him now. It would be annoying to still have to put up with the sister who had "killed" her, but she could make due. Keeping Tatsuya and Miyuki nearby (and happy, if convenient) would take priority.

"I suppose I couldn't stop my adorable nephew and niece from having fun, could I? Though, regardless of your good behavior this year, you understand I will require you to bring a guard in addition to Tatsuya, yes?"

Miyuki looked shocked and about to ask why, but Tatsuya interrupted with a simple "Of course, Oba-yue."

Maya smirked; she had no doubt Tatsuya had used "Oba-yue" instead of "Yotsuba-sama" as a small nudge of manipulation. In addition, his instant agreement meant he understood her true motivations behind the order. Tatsuya could easily protect Miyuki; the guard was to watch over their actions and report back to Maya. For their safety, of course.

...And maybe for her personal amusement too.

She loved them, but that was different than trusting them unconditionally. Maybe, by the time they went to highschool, she would have enough faith in them to let them live alone.

With her casual dismissal, the siblings exited the room, finally breathing calmly at the sudden lack of danger from their scary, scary aunt.

* * *

Miyuki leaned back in her seat with contentment, turning slightly to rest on her brother's shoulder. The low rumble of the plane empowered the lure of sleep, and only the bright light through the window kept the Shiba daughter awake for the ride.

The previous night had been hectic; packing, scheduling, working and goodbyes were all required in a painfully short time frame. Tatsuya had — luckily, as Miyuki was not sure she could have finished alone — done most of the work and planning. He had even made time to thank a guardian for implanting a magic he had designed into his eye as an emergency defense (and, subsequently, asked the guardian to take it out until further safety measures could be implemented).

Miyuki began fiddling slightly with her phone, but reminded herself to save some power to text her friends when she landed. She would need to message Kyoko and Homura and Ai and Shiho and Chand-

No, she probably would not message Chandra. After the last meeting, she had been on slightly rocky terms with the members of the "committee."

Uryu had apparently gotten an email from an unknown man. That was creepy enough on its own, but the email had gone on to say the man was aware of their efforts against the Yotsuba family and was interested in helping. At first Miyuki thought someone from her family was trying to trap the kids, but — as the Yotsuba only operated in the shadowed secrecy of night — changed her mind. She had no idea who the man was.

As the meeting continued, Uryu went on to describe all the ways the man was offering to help. Slowly, it became more and more clear that the group did not care much for helping her brother, even if their goals aligned in making him stop hiding his power.

She supposed that was why she had never been invited to one of the meetings before. It was nice to know they had built up such a strong trust in her that they thought she would stay by their side regardless. Kind of silly, as she had no motivation to fight against them.

Then, to Miyuki's surprise, someone else made it known that they felt the same way.

" _...so, who wants to be on the team that meets the adult contact?!" Uryu had screamed._

 _Silence greeted his proclamation._

 _"Uryu… I-we've talked with each other, and we don't think we want to keep doing this whole… committee thing. It's just, there's no reason for us to fight against Tatsuya anymore."_

Apparently, with a few exceptions, the majority had gotten tired. It had been exciting at the beginning — everyone loved the secrets and missions and fighting and connections and power — then became a necessary job — terrifying but necessary — and had finally transitioned into being pointless. Tatsuya had not hurt or scared them since that first day, and the children had no real idea how to approach fighting him. Besides, Uryu had kept most of the recent jobs to just himself and a few others, so all they were doing was making Uryu feel powerful.

With the new school year having started in April, many of the committee members were gaining new friends in different classes. Some had stopped playing basketball, and some were just sick of the whole thing. Too much work; not enough reward.

Uryu had practically begged his "followers" to give the man a chance, but was forced to simply watch as they walked out on him. In the end, the only people who remained were Uryu, Chandra, Yuusuke, and Miyuki.

In all honesty, Miyuki knew she should have left with everyone else. It would be the intelligent, safe thing to do for a Yotsuba heir who wanted to avoid suspicion into her family. And Miyuki had been about to, until she was overwhelmed by a fear.

What if, by leaving, she breaks off the Yotsuba's only connection to the man. As it stood, she was currently in a position that allowed her to get information far more easily than even their best spies. There was no way she could forgive herself if something went wrong when she could have stopped it. It was her duty as Tatsuya's sister and an heir-candidate of the Yotsuba clan.

So, Miyuki sent a message to Tatsuya about what she was doing, but made it clear she was not to be stopped. He could watch her from the sidelines, but only intervene if her life was in imminent danger. To her surprise, even after Maya had been informed, she was not stopped. Apparently, her aunt was confident enough in Tatsuya's abilities that she viewed it as a safe learning experience.

Shortly after, Chandra had practically gotten down on her knees before Miyuki, begging her to not abandon Uryu like the rest of their friends had. With the combined force of three sets of puppy-eyes, Miyuki decided to cave in to their request.

For the time-being.

Slowly, the rumble and swaying of the plane filled Miyuki's eyes with the allure of slumber, allowing her to put the memories at rest… for the time-being.

* * *

Tatsuya smiled as he felt Miyuki's breath steady into a long, deep rhythm of sleep, before he turned back to his book. After all the work he had done researching Miyuki's — not _his_ , never really his — mom's disease, he had gotten behind on researching other subjects. So, given that he finally had a strategy for combating the illness, he thought it would be fine to read for fun again.

The Three Great Puzzles of Weight Systematic Magic. To actualize his dream of creating a Thermonuclear Fusion reactor, he would need to solve all three. It would be much easier if other people could solve the puzzles, then leave him to create the reactor, but he had long since learned to stop relying on others.

Instead of magic, he decided to research an already known factor: existing fusion reactors.

With the creation of the hydrogen bomb on November 1st, 1952, fusion reactors had been created. Not in any state that could be used for civilian purposes, but certainly as an effective weapon. Tatuya knew the similarities between his power over matter and the bomb; perhaps, if he created the reactor, neither would need to be a weapon ever again. It was a nice dream, at the very least.

Tatsuya shook the doubt from his mind, quietly berating himself. He was going on a trip with his sister, now was not the time to focus on far-away dreams or depressing motivations. What would Honami say if she knew he was acting like this in front of Miyuki?

(Well, technically, Miyuki was asleep, but the point remained).

Tatsuya's slight shake of his head attracted the attention of the other passengers on the plane: Saito Dai. He was, unfortunately, Maya's watchdog for the trip; Tatsuya could not deny his aunt had chosen well.

Not only was Saito one of Maya's most loyal soldiers — _pets_ , loyal to her rather than the whole Yotsuba family — but Maya knew Tatsuya had a less-than-stellar opinion of him.

In fact, that was probably the biggest reason she had chosen the other teen.

Due to their lack of interactions, Miyuki was neutral; Tatsuya, on the other hand, was constantly forced to cooperate with him on various assignments. What the man — boy really, he had only turned 18 a few months ago — lacked in subtly, he made up for with enthusiasm and his magical talent: stealth walk.

At least, that was the excuse Maya gave whenever Tatsuya questioned her decision.

She knew this was hardly more than a minor annoyance, but Maya was perfectly willing to use every opportunity available to drive him up a wall. Or at least as much negative emotion as she could cause to an emotionally blocked living weapon.

Apparently, she was still angry about his small rebellion regarding Miya. It was not unexpected, and he had honestly feared it would take a much more dangerous form than merely poking him with a stick, but is _was_ , unquestionably, annoying.

With a small yawn, Miyuki woke up. It took only a moment for her to orient herself, and she immediately sat up once she realized where she was. An embarrassed blush coated her cheeks.

"You can rest," Tatsuya whispered. "With no strangers, there is no reason to put on a mask of any sort. You're not responsible for defending the Yotsuba reputation here."

Miyuki shook her head.

"If I start doing that, then I'll have trouble remembering to switch when I really need it. It's better to just make this my genuine, normal personality."

Tatsuya smiled slightly in amusement, but found no fault in her plan. He nodded once, then gestured to her to look out the window as he noticed the plane begin its descent.

Miyuki gasped at the beauty of their chosen vacation, and Tatsuya knew nothing would make him happier.

* * *

"Where are we going now?" Miyuki asked as she swung her bag over her shoulder. Nothing made her happier than doing the opposite of her last trip (Okinawa) and helping her brother with the bags. She had expected Saito Dai, their guard, to lend a hand, but he simply watched them with disdain.

"Vacation home," the teen grumply explained.

Miyuki sent a questioning look to her brother, but he shook his head in a clear sign of 'later.' She nodded to show her acceptance, then continued to help her brother with the bags.

For all her magical ability, even Miyuki herself could admit she was somewhat lacking in the physical department. It was slightly annoying to be subjected to only the lightest bags (especially when she could barely see Tatsuya under what he was carrying), but for now just being able to help was enough to satisfy her.

The Yotsuba had prepared a chauffeur for them, so it would be easy to get to their villa. She was a sophisticated foreigner with gorgeous chocolate-brown skin, though her empty expression had her coming across more as a bodyguard than a chauffeur. The woman was professional, never making any hint of rude body language toward her brother. It was nice to know not everyone was quite as bad as the main compound's children.

* * *

The car took them to a beautiful ivory-painted house, and Miyuki exited the car with her mouth agape in awe. Palm trees were scattered around the front garden, giving it a very different feel than the main compound. If anything, it seemed to almost have a commercialized-Hawaii feel to it.

Saito unlocked the front door and entered, not sparing the siblings a moment of consideration. It was somewhat odd to Miyuki to have someone behave that way to her, but she had never met the boy before. He seemed to hold some manner of respect towards her (probably just because she was an heir of the Yotsuba), but most good will was canceled out by whatever had him glaring daggers at her brother.

The teen was mostly unremarkable, with average looks for someone of Japanese descent. In fact, the only thing that set him apart was a thin scar which traced a line from his ear to his collarbone. Well, that, and the indefinitely infuriated expression which permanently turned his eyebrows into a canyon.

"Miyuki?" Tatsuya whispered, turning his full attention to her. "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" Miyuki had been caught off guard, and blushed at her informal response. "Ah, yes, just lost in thought. I… Saito Dai doesn't seem to like you very much. I'm just a little worried."

"I see. You don't need to be nervous, he knows he can't beat me in a fight, and he won't do anything that could anger our aunt, so we're safe."

"She doesn't care that he looks about two seconds away from pouncing on you?"

Tatsuya chuckled and responded, "He's not doing that intentionally, it's just who he is. That's part of why Oba-yue likes him so much, he doesn't need to put effort into being an intimidating guard; he does it naturally. You don't need to be concerned."

"And the not-liking-you part?"

"We've… gone on jobs together before. I believe his animosity comes from that. I'll take care of it if anything happens, so don't worry. We should just enjoy our vacation. Why don't you put your stuff away, and I'll take you on a walk around the villa?"

Relaxing at the explanation, Miyuki nodded and walked into the house. It really _was_ beautiful; not too big and crowded with strangers like the main compound — which felt more like a town sometimes — but a good size for the number of people staying there.

After leaving her suitcase in her room, Miyuki began to stroll downstairs, ready for the walk. She turned a corner, only to stop at the sound of voices. One was angry and nearly-shouting, while the other remained calm despite all the aggression. Miyuki thought it might be a parent and child, until she realized it was Saito and Tatsuya.

"What do you mean, 'I can't go with you?' Mom said Yotsuba-sama _ordered_ me to watch you two!"

"I'll be taking Miyuki on a walk, there's no need for you to follow us. It would most likely just make us uncomfortable, and it's pointless when you can easily get in contact with us."

"Would make 'us' uncomfortable?" Saito parroted. "What? You can't really expect me to believe that! You're not capable of emotions."

"If Miyuki's uncomfortable, I'm uncomfortable-"

"And if I'm not doing what Yotsuba-sama ordered me to, _I'm_ uncomfortable!" he paused for a breath. Then, puffing up his chest like a self-important child, continued, "No. I'm not letting you go anywhere without me."

"You are capable of watching us _without_ following. And we both know you've long since lost the ability to sneak up behind me — stealth magic or not. Give me a good reason why you would need to come."

A long pause ensued as Saito struggled for some sort of answer.

"Well-she, she's an heir. I need to defend-"

"I am more than capable of that alone."

"Er- as the only legal adult present, you might need me-"

"We're not buying anything, and the Yotsuba own all the land we're going to walk on. There's a garden out back, no unfamiliar adults would be there."

"It doesn't even have to be that! Maybe you're not mature enough to… be… alone…"

Tatsuya's raised an eyebrow at his statement, easily destroying any logical or not-so-logical argument Saito was planning on following up with. The teen's cheeks flushed, but his determination visibly flared and he looked down at Tatsuya to yell some more.

"That's enough," Miyuki said, her voice startling Saito. Tatsuya just calmly glanced over and smiled, having already known she was there.

"Miyuki!… sama… surely I-"

"No. We're going and don't want you to follow."

"But-"

"No."

Tatsuya made no effort to hide his completely genuine smile.

* * *

Miyuki had to admit it: the garden was gorgeous. From famous to exotically rare, every plant was chosen and arranged to perfection. In the center, a ring of lilies encircled a cherry tree — the crowning jewel of the area. Miyuki vaguely wondered if magic had been used for the arrangement.

"Onii-sama," Miyuki suddenly said. "Can I ask you something about Saito?"

"Of course, what would you like to know?"

Miyuki brushed some of her hair behind her ear, trying to figure out how to politically phrase what she was trying to say.

"I… have been watching him, and it has not given me the highest opinion of him. Just-I don't get how he can be a member of the Yotsuba when he barely seems to be a functioning adult! What am I missing?"  
Tatsuya gave her an understanding smile, explaining, "Yes, he does seem like that. Yotsuba-sama has many reasons for putting up with him: he has an ability which allows for nearly-unparalleled stealth, he is one of our most loyal members, and she takes great amusement from his interactions with me."

Deciding to ignore the last bit, Miyuki asked, "What, exactly, is his ability?"

"It allows him to walk silently while obstructing light around him, so, if you're not expecting it, he can pass in front of you without anyone noticing him."

"He can?!" Miyuki asked, shocked.

"That's the main reason we're paired together so often: I'm an assassin, he's an infiltrator. Our abilities mesh well together."

Instead of answered, Miyuki's face simply adopted a disbelieving expression as she glanced toward the house. Not even _trying_ to hide himself, Saito's face was pressed up against the window as he glared at the siblings. Tatsuya smiled slightly at the situation and motioned for Miyuki to continue walking.

"Don't worry about him. Let's just enjoy our vacation."

* * *

"Hi, Chandra," Miyuki smiled, though was internally slightly wary. "Why did you call me?"

"Miyuki! Well, it's about the committee. Uryu and Yuusuke are here too, we have the phone on speaker!"

""Hi Miyuki!"" two voices called out.

Miyuki paused as she waited patiently for an explanation. Soon, Uryu cleared this throat and, announcing, "I know you weren't able to make it because of your trip, but we recently met with the adult contact! It was truly inspirational, and he gave me a few ideas on how to improve our game plan."

"Er… did he?" Miyuki asked with a barely-held-together polite mask.

"Yes. He gave me another look into history, just like the history videos we watched in class that one time. Obviously, we were too soft previously. I now understand we need to really step up our game if we want to have even the slightest chance of beating them."

"I see… and what does that mean exactly?"

"I was thinking we should start by strengthening our relationship with the adults who were enlightened to the truth. He told me about how we could help him by continuing to gather information, but we already do that. I want to make our loyalty even more obvious; we should do something only we can do. We should ask the adult what steps we can take to cement our loyalty."

"And you think… _I'm_ the right person for whatever job he comes up with?"

An awkward pause pressed the room into silence as the committee members tried to think of what to say. Finally, Chandra decided to make a leap of faith.

"Miyuki… we-we've been watching your brother, and that means we also happened to be watching you. We saw you and your brother use magic before — magic on a level no normal kid would be able to use. I'm sorry for invading your privacy like that, but we had no other choice. Tatsuya was a complete mystery before you started helping us with this, and it was the only way we knew to get information."

"Remind me again. What, exactly, _are_ your goals in this."

Yuusuke, realizing they had failed to keep up their act around her, did not bother with the story of trying to save her brother. Instead, he told only the truth.

"Okay, we'll be completely honest with you:-" Miyuki focused, confident she would sense any lies. "Your brother scared us. A lot. At different points, but we all felt that when encountering him. And yeah, for a while this was definitely about working against the evil plan we were certain he was building towards. But the deeper we went in, the more we learned about the world of magic as a whole."

"There were several magicians," Uryu continued, "who we started referring to as 'undesirables.' You were there, so you know this already. They're people in all corners of the magic world, meaning the problems we had with Tatsuya aren't a single, isolated incident. It's like-it's like a fungus that's growing on every corner of a forest."

The others did a double-take. Noticing their expressions, Uryu blushed and rushed to explain. "You know, I mean…. It's everywhere now, and dealing with individual trees doesn't fix the whole area, so we need to change everything."

"...Right," Miyuki agreed hesitantly. "So what, specifically, are you working towards?"

"Well, we want to create a world where we don't need to worry about being targeted by demons, and demons don't need to fear being vanquished by us." Yuusuke gave a long, tired sigh at Uryu "demon," which meant the opposite of the point they were trying to make, and decided to interrupt.

" _Anyways_ , we don't want this divide between us. The adult explained it as a robin-hood thing. There are some truly evil magicians, but they are a small fraction of the overall population. It's just that since they happen to exist in every part of the magic community, they're… 'infecting every tree,' as Uryu would put it. All we need to do is step in and accomplish what the governments are too afraid to do: get rid of evil magicians."

"Yeah! Just like the diamond-team did in the Zoala arc!"

Once again, his friends turned to him with disbelieving expressions; he blushed.

"Everyone else on the committee would have gotten it…."

"And they're not on the committee anymore, so maybe try to keep the references to a minimum," Yuusuke suggested with a deadly edge of sarcasm.

Miyuki giggle slightly, but sobered as she considered what they had said. Even now, her dreams were haunted with memories of Okinawa. The Great Asian Alliance had attacked unprovoked. They had lost the battle, but had attacked-hurt- _killed_. Tatsuya had kept it down to only one victim, but that only emphasized the impact of Honami. There were magicians like Miyuki's father (who hurt Tatsuya), and the clan (who feared him), and Dahan (who had _tortured_ her aunt). Could she really say that there weren't magicians in the world who needed to be dealt with?

She risked a glance up and saw her friends' hopeful expressions. She did not trust them — how could she? — but she was willing to give them one last chance.

"...Alright. What do I have to do?"

* * *

Tatsuya gave an understanding smile as Miyuki dragged him from shop to shop. He had no idea what she was looking for, but shortly after her phone call (which he obviously respected her privacy enough not to spy on) she had become dead set on looking for something.

So dedicated, in fact, that she barely bothered to put up a fight when Saito Dai told them he was coming along. If Miyuki did not mind, he did not mind, thought Tatsuya would admit to a mild degree of confusion. It might help if his sister had just told him what she was looking for, but for now he was in the dark.

"Ah! There it is!" Miyuki chirped, running forward. A closer look, and Tatsuya realized she had not been looking for something to buy, but instead a poster with a pearl-ivory ship.

Join Us

Cruise Around the Island and Experience Our Great

 **CORAL REEFS**

(special entry code required for VIP voyage)

Tatsuya stared at the poster.

"If you wanted to take a cruise to the reefs we could have just taken the Yotsuba boat," he reminded her. "We would be all alone then."

"I suppose, but Chandra gave me a code for VIP seating, so I thought I should use it."

At this, Tatsuya straightened up.

"I see. Then… will I not be able to come with you?"

"It's just going around the island. As long as you can 'see' me, I know I'll be safe."

Tatsuya frowned, but considered her point. So long as elemental sight could 'see' her, it would be easy for him to decompose an enemy attack. However, through his near-arrogant confidence, his mind continued replaying his failure at Okinawa.

He had left Miyuki. Left her and stopped watching and stopped paying attention and she had _died_. Not even the army's best magic could have saved her — he had _felt_ every gaping hole the bullets had **carved into her** — she had nearly _died_ because he left-

"Onii-sama!"

Tatsuya flinched, finally snapping out of his thoughts at her scream. He looked around for its cause, but could not find any danger in the surrounding area. He looked down at her in confusion.

"What-"

"You were panicking."

Once she told him — and if she had to tell _him_ that, something had gone very, very wrong — he noticed the slight tremble in his stance and breath. Saito huffed a mocking laugh at his pitiful display, but Tatsuya ignored him.

"Sorry, I just don't think you should go-"

"Onii-sama! I'm fine. I know that I'm not as powerful as you are, but you're going to have to let me go eventually. I can't always be within twenty feet of you, and I _can_ take care of myself."

"I know that, I just don't see why-"

Miyuki shook her head, responding, "What if we were attacking someone, and not the other way around. If Oba-yue wanted you to leave them alive or you were posing as someone weaker, you wouldn't be able to destroy the entire building with decomposition. Can you trust me enough to help you and fight my own battles when the time comes? Even if they're just a group of weak magicians, as you are now you would hide me away despite the fact that cocytus could easily deal with them."

"Is there… some reason you don't want me to come?"

"...Well, I do think there's more going on than I was initially told, and I don't feel like you would necessarily be happy. It might be a bad idea, on my part. However, I'm also sure that they will behave differently around you, and I won't actually manage to get anything done."

"What… what are you trying to do?"

"I want to confirm, once and for all, who I can trust." Miyuki looked up with resolution, but soon blushed and corrected herself with "I don't mean you of course. I already trust you, I'm just trying to figure out who else I can trust. Of people not in the Yotsuba family."

Tatsuya smiled at her rushed explanation, but turned grim as he considered what she was asking for. It was true that he was not (and would never aspire to be) her keeper, so he could not stop her from going. The question was if he respected her enough — _trusted_ her enough — to let her go alone.

"Onii-sama, please."

Taking an unsteady, shaky breath, Tatsuya forced himself to look up. "I will be watching at all times."

"I know. Thank you."

* * *

After Tatsuya agreed to let Miyuki go by herself, she had insisted on dragging the two teenage boy with her as she looked around the various shops, trying on swimsuits and necklaces as she went.

Saito noticed their group was attracting attention, and it took nearly all his training to not react with either a preen or sneer. He supposed it made sense; Miyuki was objectively the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and she was being followed around by _two_ above-average boys. In addition, he had heard whispers throughout the town about their illogically expensive clothes. They were just the kind of people who attracted attention wherever they went, even if his companions tried to appear oblivious to that fact.

"Those two look so cute! The girl is adorable."

"That boy she's talking to isn't bad either, think they're dating?"

"No she keeps calling him 'Onii-sama.'"

"Their clothes are so nice. And does that girl have a Hermes Kelly Rose Gold bag?!"

It seemed Saito was the only one of the trio to notice the whispers they attracted.

They fit in perfectly at the manor of vacation villa, but coming to a random town like this made them embarrassingly obvious to everyone. He wondered how Tatsuya was able to stand being so exposed, considering the other boy's high aptitude for assassination.

Once again, Saito found his eyes being attracted to the posters displayed everywhere. While VIP tickets were nearly impossible to get (unless you were a Miyuki, apparently), it would not be difficult to get a normal one. In fact, he could probably do it without letting Tatsuya find out.

He spared a glance back at the other half of his (admittedly one-sided) rivalry. He knew Tatsuya did not consider him anything more than an annoyance, but maybe that would change if he did something Tatsuya could not. If Miyuki was put in danger and he saved her, even Tatsuya would have to acknowledge his abilities.

He could picture it now.

The boat would be rocking violently, and he would race through the halls to find his temporary mistress. Tatsuya would be on the island, watching in helpless frustration as the boat started to sink. Saito would throw open a door between him and Miyuki, and the suspenseful music would come to a sudden stop.

She would probably be lying on the ground, knocked out by something that fell in one of the ships big tips. Uryu would run closer and kneel down beside her, then sweep her up in his arms and carry her out to the lifeboat. From there, he would be able to stand proud and present to Tatsuya that he had done what the other boy had not been able to accomplish; for the first time, it would be his win.

The more he thought about it, the more attached to the idea he became.

* * *

Miyuki took a deep breath, allowing the salty air trademarked by the beach to fill her lungs. Even as she looked up and saw the island shrinking before her, she felt completely safe. After all, the boat would stay within Tatsuya's range of sight; so long as that happened, she would be fine.

And, as she felt for the charm on her necklace, she knew it was impossible for her to be taken too far for him to 'see'.

Now she just had to figure out what she was doing there.

Chandra had not been much more clear than "get on the boat," so she was somewhat going in blind. There was, of course, a chance that this was not in her best interests, but she had enough faith in her friendship with the girl to feel somewhat at-ease.

Due to her annoying lack of goals, she had spent the last half hour pretending to be a normal tourist (which, in all honesty, she sorta was). She tried out the tea room, took pictures of whales, listened to the band, and tried a (non-alcoholic) strawberry daiquiri.

However, the whole time, she could not help but notice the physical absence of her brother. It was strange; until just the past year she had barely registered her brother's existence. Now she had trouble imagining herself going a full day without seeing his comforting, calm expression.

It did not help that her mother was still bedridden, regardless of Tatsuya's continued attempt at saving her. Despite having been the one to ask him to look into it, Miyuki was feeling more and more like it was a hopelessly naive attempt.

If only she knew a way to help hi-

 **BEEP BEEP**

The ship's sirens blared and yanked her back to reality. Looking around the deck, she saw people muttering in confusion, looking around for the emergency.

The loud speakers clicked on.

"We are the Īe mahō! We have taken over this ship. If you wish to survive, put your hands in the air and do not resist! Any use of magic will be met with open fire!"

The doors were swung open, and the deck was filled with men wearing masks to cover their faces. Miyuki tensed, her mind throwing her back to Okinawa island.

 _The door was flung open. Miyuki turned to see, but stopped her movement. Red, hot, **searing** pain was **tearing** through her body and it was everywhere until she could not **think** and she had been **shot** and her magic was useless and she was going to **die** and was i_n _c **a**_ pa _ **b** le o **f** d_o **i** _ **n** g **an** yt_h _ **i** -_

Deep breath.

She was fine. She had studied about panic attacks to prevent this from happening. Now was not the time to freeze in the past. She forced herself to breathe.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself able to relax. How could she forget so easily? Tatsuya was watching her.

Sure, he did not have enough control to erase the men simultaneously without sinking the boat — especially since he would not be able to tell if passengers were really terrorists in disguise — but she knew he would not let them actually hurt her.

"Hands in the air!" the armed men yelled, moving around to remove any CADs or weapons on the guests. Miyuki cooperated, knowing resisting now would be discovered and get her killed before she could help. There were just too many unknowns.

So, instead, she thought. Surely, someone manning the expensive ship would have noticed an approaching boat and informed the guests, at the very least. And there were plenty of guards on the ship, why had no one heard anything until the ship had already been taken over?

When a guard walked closer to check on another passenger, Miyuki's breath hitched and her eyes widened in realization. She recognized the man as one of the boats guards. So, they had taken over the ship long before the ship had even set sail. It certainly explained how they got the weapons on the ship without anyone raising a fuss.

Knowing how it happened was mostly pointless now that they had already taken over the ship; she needed to keep thinking.

The group had called themselves the "Īe Mahō," an organization made up of people who believed the Ten Master Clans had gained too much power in Japan. They argued that choosing leaders based off family lineage undermined the key principles of democracy. Miyuki might agree with them, but _she_ understood the families' power was truly based off their born characteristics. The families would have the power either way; the Ten Master Clans, at least, allowed the main government to keep some power.

None of that answered what they were doing on the boat. As far as Miyuki knew, she was the only person on the ship with a connection to the Ten Master Clans. And that could not be it, because it was impossible for them to know who she was-

"Bring any young girls with black hair to me!" the man in charge of the deck squad ordered, and Miyuki's heart skipped a beat.

* * *

A loud scream echoed throughout the building, but remained unheard by the people walking outside. The man who had made the sound sat — back against the wall — struggling to get away from the demon chasing after him. It was a futile effort.

"Answer me!" the demon's voice rose, but no semblance of emotion could be found. He was a weapon, there to complete a job; accepting emotion would only be a distraction.

"I-I don't know what you're t-"

"I saw the boat. It was overrun by men you hired. Explain."

"I don't… I have no idea what you're talking about, kid!" the man exclaimed, bravado returning to his expression. "Why are you here?! There's nothing going o-"

His voice cut off, as the very air around him began to feel strange. From the corner of his mind, he vaguely realized the boy had turned and bowed a short "thank you" to a black woman who had not been there earlier. She carried an active CAD, but responded with "you developed the spell. If we both continue to serve the Yotsuba, it was the least I could do."

As many questions as that brought up, the man could not force himself to consider any. Instead his mind was annoyingly distracted by how _itchy_ his clothes had suddenly become.

And it was becoming worse by the second.

He reached a hand up to grab his shirt, but the slightest movement sent him kneeling on the floor. It had felt wrong — wrong in a way that nearly broke him. He could feel every _fiber_ of the clothes move — it swarmed across his body — a million ants were _crawling_ across his ribs — he had to kill them — had to get them _off_ — he slapped his chest.

 _Unbearable_ pain flooded from that spot. He was sent crashing to the floor — the too-much-of-a-disgusting- _putrid_ -orange-to-be-brown floor shone at a blindingly vibrant shade with splinters and cracks and rough edges and far, far too loud noise from the people above.

The woman asked what was happening at a volume _bombs_ would be jealous of. The man reached up to cover his ears, ignoring the pain that came with it.

The boy explained something about amplified senses at an equally loud volume.

The man slammed his eyes shut, trying to block out the too-bright light and sound and clothes and air and pain and it was all _too much_ -

And just as suddenly, it was gone.

"Let's try this again. What. Happened."

* * *

An evil laugh shook the ship, but remained unheard by all the passengers. If heard, Saito Dai's cackle would have surely sent the listeners running for their lives. As it was, there was no warning to the people on the ship; they had no idea such an incompetent boy was present.

Nevertheless, Saito remained hidden. He had spent a large portion of the money allotted to him by Maya getting the ticket, but it seemed it would pay off. Now, Tatsuya was stuck on land, and only he was there to save Tatsuya's charge, Miuki, from her terrifying fate at the hands of the monsters who had taken over the ship.

Slowly. Carefully.

Saito used all his training to sneak into the captain's room. Luckily, he was a prodigy in stealth magic, and his ability to almost completely erase his presence was only bested by Tatsuya (who, annoying enough, could do it without magic). He was certain his mom would be proud of him for completing his assigned mission; he could picture it now.

Tatsuya would return home defeated, his head hanging low. But Saito would — for the first time since he started partnering with Tatsuya — saunter into the manor, his head held high with pride. For the first time, _he_ would be victorious!

(Never mind that they were on the same side, and not actually supposed to be competing anyways.)

Then he would run up to his room, Miyuki trailing adoringly by his side, and Saito Mami would be waiting for him. She would get him his favorite snacks — ice cream, plums, and cola — and speak to everyone in the country about how amazing her son was.

It would be heaven on earth.

Now, all he had to do was rescue Miyuki. From what he had heard during his fantasizing, they were actually looking for her. One guard mentioned that "the boss" wanted them to look for a young girl with long black hair, but did not bother to give the name; it would be far too easy for her to simply fake having a different name. It was an ingenious plan; they were even smarter than Tatsuya!

Surely, Miyuki would be doomed without his presence.

Then "the boss" entered. He was a relatively young man wearing an outfit which resembled an army commander's. It was adorned with several badges, and at his presence the guards immediately saluted.

"Sir!"

Turning to the female guard, he had ordered "Take a break. The kids I told you about are calling with questions. Give them what they want to hear."

"Understood!" she responded, before walking in the direction the man came from. On the boss's tag was the name 'Chitoge.' Whether that was _really_ his tag or not was up for debate, but Saito made sure to commit it to memory.

He soon found his way to the captain's room, but forced himself to stay calm. Only his training kept him from bursting into the room with a flourish and heroic speech. While good for heros, he doubted that would help him save Miyuki.

So instead, he stealthily crept along through the hallways, looking for an opening. A quick glance through the window informed him that Miyuki was not there, as the girls were instead being kept in an adjacent room. He needed a secret door!

Now, of course, he could just try to climb through the interconnected trash shoots, but that would be gross and not really the kind of heroic entrance he was looking for. Instead, he snuck around to a side door which did not seem to be guarded. Looking in, he saw that — while it was still a door to the captain's office — it would bring him much closer to the door he wanted.

Okay, so he would quietly open the door, then quietly sneak to the right door while they were talking to each other, then quietly get Miyuki out, and then quietly find some way to call Tatsuya because he would be able to take care of the men easily.

Now, Saito _could_ do it, but was already using his CAD to keep himself quiet. So, as long as he kept the noise he made low enough for his magic to cover, they would never find-

A painfully loud **creak** got the attention of everyone in the room, and Saito froze in surprise at the loud sound. Not even his nearly-omnipotent magic could do something about a noise that loud. Every head in the captain's room turned towards him.

Uh oh.

* * *

Tatsuya was not usually one to sigh. He was the best soldier — a cold, calculating machine of destruction — and would only sigh if he was putting on a persona of being a civilian. However, at the sheer _stupidity_ of his supposed 'partner' in taking care of Miyuki, he could not help himself.

Really? He could not last 30 _minutes_ before being captured? Tatsuya would be having words with Maya about forcing their cooperation.

Then again, he was not much better. Watching with elemental sight gave her a bit of protection (decomposition in emergencies), but it was not much. He was unbelievably grateful that he had her bring a necklace which he had decomposed and recomposed until it had the same properties as the bullet from Okinawa, allowing him to keep constant surveillance of her.

That did not change the fact that he had no way to make the ship turn around from whatever direction they were going. Stewing on this, Tatsuya began to pace around the abandoned warehouse he was using to avoid breaking something in the expensive manor.

Was there anything he could do to change the direction of the ship? Sure, he could use material burst on it, but that was a bit pointless when Miyuki was also there. And the other hostages, he supposed.

He had so many abilities, one of them should be able to do something. But he had no way of getting there, not without some sort of flight magic (and no one had that).

Continuing to pace, Tatsuya suddenly saw himself reflected in one the the many windows. He stopped and stared.

Tatsuya had never cared much for appearance, and had never seen any reason to. Looks were irrelevant when he was ordered to kill without being seen.

And yet, Tatsuya found himself standing and looking at the reflection.

His reflection — the reflection of a monster — of the stupid, _stupid_ idiot who had allowed this to happen. A foreign, predatory _hate_ surged through him.

 ** _CRASH_**

The glass caved in and exploded into shards, cutting the arm which had punched through the window; Tatsuya ignored should never — _would_ never, he promised — happen again. Regardless of how much he trusted her, this was tearing him apart. He should have done more research before letting her go.

Collapsing to a hopeless, kneeling position on the floor, Tatsuya desperately held onto his one lifeline: he could still protect her with elemental sight and decomposition.

If nothing else, reminding himself of that kept his sanity intact.

* * *

Miyuki remained silent as the "young girls with black hair" were rounded up and brought into a big, black room. It was becoming more dangerous by the second, but Miyuki did not want to reveal all her cards until she knew what she was dealing with.

The girls were sat down, and the adults simply stood to guard the exits. That was bad; if she stayed here, she would have no way of knowing what was going on. Without her CAD (which had been taken before she was brought into the room) she would not be able to contact her brother or take prisoners alive. If she-

No, wait. While a normal person would not be able to make out the sound, her experience with the Yotsuba was enough for her to distinguish a whispered conversation below.

At a nearly-inaudible volume — made more-so by the sniffling and crying girls next to her — Miyuki could vaguely make out a discussion between two men. One spoke with the accent of most Īe mahō supporters, but the other spoke more like a man from the city.

"They're there. What do you want with them, sir?" the accented voice asked.

"I can't thank you enough for your help in our common goal, but we really don't have time to discuss that right now. Once we're docked at the island-"

"No. You're going to tell me _now_. You said we would be working together to liberate the world from the corrupt, power-obsessed leaders of the current Japan. How, exactly, does taking over a random ship and getting you a bunch of little girls help with that. We're here for our greater purpose! Not to assist you in whatever perverted, selfish fantasy you want to play out in your own time."

A sigh.

"I can assure you, that is not my goal…. Do you know of the Yotsuba?"

"Everyone knows of them. Answer my question!"

"Yes, everyone knows 'of' them, but very few actually know about them. Tell me, did you know that the 'Queen of the Night' has young, black haired niece who functions as one of her heirs?"

"What? That's… how could you possibly know-"

"Even the Yotsuba, it seems, are not immune to traitors from the inside. Money is the world's greatest motivator after all. My point is, the Yotsuba's heaviest hitters will not attack a boat their heir is on. We can get off Japan, and blackmail them once we're in a safe location."

"But wouldn't she have a bodyguard?"

"And that's the genius of it. You're right, she has the world's most terrifying guard dog. But I made sure she's alone. If he goes and destroys the island to get her back, it will be Dahan all over again, and getting new supporters will be child's play, so long as we're not on the island when it happens."

"You know she's alone?"

"Yes. I found classmates of hers, and offered to give them information through a friend of theirs, so long as they came to the ship alone and ignorant. Luckily for them, their friend just happened to be on the very island I wanted to meet them at."

Miyuki gasped, air rushing into her rapidly expanding lungs as her brain tried to cope with the torrent of information suddenly displayed before it. As nice as it was to know her friends had not meant to hurt her, she was nevertheless stuck with a feeling of betrayal.

While, recently, she had been angry at her family for their treatment of Tatsuya, she had never considered that one of them would be stupid enough to _betray_ the Yotsuba. Her aunt would not be happy about this.

Or Tatsuya, come to think of it.

Whoever they were, the traitor would likely be begging for death within the hour. That thought, at least, lifted Miyuki's spirits slightly.  
But now that she knew why she was here, there was no reason to stay any longer; it was time for her to act. Just as Miyuki was about to stand up, she heard a loud creak coming from the room to the left.

Someone had been caught.

* * *

Saito cursed, wishing more than anything that the door had not creaked. Now he was tied up and gagged, forced to sit and listen as the men talked to each other. Apparently, the boss-man 'Chitoge' was suddenly called away and took a helicopter off the boat, so there was no longer any chance for Saito to catch the ring leader!

This whole operation was a disaster.

He swore in his head again; how was he supposed to save Miyuki like this? She was stuck by herself, and however nice it would be to get one over Tatsuya, Saito was not stupid enough to risk enraging him by allowing his sister to be injured. What could he do to save her?

A loud scream was heard from next door, and Saito's heart stopped. When he began breathing again, he realized he was shaking. Yes, it had sounded like a man, but if something had happened to Miyuki, Tatsuya would make him beg for death.

He took a terrified glance up as the door creaked open.

It was Miyuki.

An icy wind came from behind her, and everyone looked in confusion at the soldiers behind Miyuki who remained still, not even trying to recapture her. In fact, they almost seemed…

Too still. Their eyes were the unseeing glassy gaze of the dead. They had become Miyuki's personal brand of ice sculptures: her frozen dolls.

"But we-we took her CAD-" one man protested, before he, too, stopped. Not dead, but not really alive either.

"You did," Miyuki acknowledged, "but that won't stop me from using my superpower."

Despite all the confidence surging off Miyuki, Saito could tell she was relieved by the obvious difference in their power. A wave of calm began flowing through her, evident in her every movement. The casual surveying of the room for more threats; the easy destruction of her opponents weapons; the pitifully simple way she shut off — _froze_ — their brains.

The problems she had in her life had no right answer. Treacherous friends, securing human rights, and protecting her brother could have endless or no solutions. Using magic to destroy enemies was easier than breathing.

She turned to Saito — her 'bodyguard' — and raised an eyebrow.

"A-ah. So you… got out by… yourself ..." he said calmly (he did _not_ squeak) in an attempt to start a conversation.

"I did. And it seems you somehow managed to get captured by yourself."

The concentrated blush on Saito's cheeks was as obvious as a skyscraper in a field of grass. It took all of Miyuki's training to not burst out giggling.

She untied Saito and allowed him to stand up, intending to get off the ship as fast as possible. The two went back inside Miyuki's previous room and talked to the young girls, asking them to say in the deck so that they could look for possible rescue ships and call out to them.

Miyuki knew she had not taken care of all the adult men (the ship was, after all, still moving), so she immediately set about doing that, bringing Saito with her.

It was true that her Onii-sama had warned her against doing trusting Saito — "But Oba-yue let-" "When Yotsuba-sama wants a weapon, we're weapons. When she wants an idiot, we're incompetent." "I… well…" — but she had confidence that it would be fine. After all, her Onii-sama had told her Saito's strength was in infiltration.

The pair made their way through the boat's hallways, not making a single sound. Miyuki had not expected Saito to be able to spread his power onto other people. She wondered if that was why he was so often paired with her On-

Miyuki froze, noticing the men gathered in one corner of the boat. They were all trained guards, and were trying to figure out why they lost contact with the others.

Taking a slow, deep breath, Miyuki prepared to take them out.

* **CRASH** *

Instantly, six heads spun around to face the source of the noise: the display case Saito had knocked destruction of glass was, unfortunately, too loud for Saito's ability to block out.

"FIRE!" One yelled, pulling out her gun.

Miyuki froze, memories of Okinawa flooding her brain and overriding her survival instincts. She tensed in preparation for the pain which still haunted her nightmares months later.

The bullet disappeared.

"Wha-" the men gasped out, then froze in their tracks. Miyuki did not have enough experience reacting to unexpected situations; when it came to executing a plan, however, she was hard to beat. Besides, she knew what had happened, so there was no reason for her to stall in confusion.

"I-what was that?" Saito asked from behind her.

"Onii-sama is always watching out for me," Miyuki explained, taking care to not turn the boy into an ice cube out of annoyance. Instead, she grabbed the charm on her necklace, clutching it tightly. Her brother had taken every precaution to ensure she would be safe.

It was time for her to turn the boat around.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask," Miyuki began, "but what. Are. You. Doing. Here."

It sounded more like a threat than a question, but Saito answered regardless.

"I was trying to… protect you? You know… since Tatsuya isn't… here?"

It sounded more like a question than an answer, but Miyuki allowed it regardless. She needed to turn the boat around first.

* * *

"Onii-sama!" Miyuki cried, dashing forward and throwing herself into his arms. "I'm sorry, I was-that was stupid of me... Thank you for being-for keep me safe."

Tears began to leak out of her eyes and fall on Tatsuya's shirt, but neither sibling paid any attention to that. They paid no attention to Saito, or the other civilians, or to the law enforcement; they only cared for each other.

"When we get back," Tatsuya muttered, "will you tell me what you've been doing lately?"

"Of course, Onii-sama. I'm sorry."

Major Kazuma — whom Tatsuya had called for transportation, but only ended up arriving _after_ the boat turned back — helped the passengers off and got in contact with the local authorities to deal with the situation. With the civilians taken care of, Tatsuya and Miyuki were free to go.

Keeping their aunt waiting was probably not a good idea if they wanted to do similar trips in the future; at worst, she would stop letting them leave the compound.

Yes, it would be best to get back home and convince her of the lie that they were capable, responsible preteens.

Dragging Saito along with them, they said goodbye to the Major (with a salute of respect and bow of gratitude, respectively) before meeting up with the woman who had been their chauffeur for their time on the island. In Miyuki's opinion, her new red-orange dress suited her dark skin-tone much better than the suit had, but it might have just been the fact that she was smiling now.

"Good job," she whispered as she let Miyuki into the car.

She gave another short bow, then drove them to the airport.

* * *

Sometimes, when you are really embarrassed, you can _feel_ your body heat up like a cookie in an oven. Giving his report to Maya, Saito felt like a cookie teleported into the 15,000,000 °C center of the sun. The obvious tension in the room did not help.

There were six relationships at play in the discussion: He hated Tatsuya, Tatsuya ignored him, he (rightfully) revered Yotsuba Maya, Tatsuya ( _barely_?!) respected her, and she was amused by both of them.

"Saito Dai, yes?" she rhetorically hummed, but he immediately nodded in confirmation. "I understand the report you both have given me, but I do still have a few questions. First and foremost: why were you on the ship?"

"Ah, well, I was there when Mi-when Shiba-sama decided to go on the trip, so I was able to observe their interactions and reactions to the idea. Tatsuya seemed suspicious, but wanted to respect Shiba-sama's wishes of not tagging along, and I didn't think there was anything I could do to convince him of changing his mind. He was somewhat overconfident that he could help her, so obviously I couldn't just allow Miyuki to be by herself-"

"Do you feel like your presence on the boat helped her?"

"Uh-yes, of course. She's just a young girl, it was best for her to have a legal adult with her in case anything happened and, as it turns out, something did happen. So… yes, I think it was all for the best."

Maya hummed slightly, but did not comment on his not-really-an-answer-to-her-question. Saito took that as a resounding success.

"I see, so you joined her to be sure she had an adult?"

"Ah, well," Saito sneaked a glance to his right, studying Tatsuya to decide if the boy would call him out. It was probably fine; Tatsuya did not care about glory anyways.

"Well?"

"Er-Tatsuya was also still suspicious of the trip, so he asked me to go on for him. Miyuki had not asked me to stay behind, so it was a bit of a loophole in the request. Once he realized that, he _obviously_ had to ask the person he trusts most to go along and protect his sister. Oh, and he also wanted me to go investigate, as our previous trips together have taught him how good I am at that. I discovered the name of the man I believe the be behind this whole operation! He had a uniform with the name 'Chitoge' on it."

Here, finally, it seemed like he genuinely had Maya's interest. Saito would call this excursion and following report a resounding victory.

"I see. You can go now. Tatsuya, stay behind."

Her short commands were — as usual — met with instant compliance.

* * *

"I think that was a new record," Maya began, explaining to her silent nephew. "I'm pretty sure over 75% of what he said was made up on the spot."

"I suppose it was."  
"Fascinating. While I'll need to have you look into that name, I think this was worthwhile all by itself. It's always so much fun to get reports after the two of you go on an assignment together."

"While it's wonderful you're enjoying yourself, I would prefer you stick to people who can actually do the job you want us to do. Miyuki told me about what's been going on at school, and it's clear that there's something bigger going on than it first seems."

"Oh, don't be like that, you make a perfect team. It's similar to having the brains and brawn, except it's legal abilities from being an adult versus actual competence. You make a perfect team."

"Surely you could find someone else — _anyone_ else — who is over eighteen?"

"No one who would give me as entertaining a story."

Tatsuya glared.

* * *

"Tatsuya-sama?"

One of the most feared magicians in the world blinked at the sudden mention of his name, having been lost in thought. It was nearly impossible for that to happen, but a new discovery had piled enough emotion on him to leak through his mental defense.

"Yes?" he asked. It was not a time for him to be daydreaming, regardless of how important it was for him to think about the discovery. He would have time at night; he needed to stay focused for now.

"It's starting."

Tatsuya nodded in confirmation, then went to stand by his patient's bed. As much as he wanted to celebrate the doctor's (and his own) success, his mind continued fading away. Because it had not been a coincidence Miyuki was targeted, and it was not because she was a member of the Yotsuba.

Chitoge was the name of a bodyguard — ex military — who had served a wealthy man until a short while ago. Chitoge's master had made a small fortune in legal and not-so-legal business transactions. Unfortunately, the master had not kept a careful eye on his magician son who had not wanted to join the military, allowing the son to attempt an attack on a school _everyone_ on the wrong side of the law knew was protected by the Yotsuba.

Chitoge had been guarding his master the night Tatsuya went and massacred the family.

He had escaped.

Tatsuya's failure was putting Miyuki in danger.

"Sir? Are you ready?"

Shaking himself free of his thoughts once again, Tatsuya nodded, allowing the operation to begin.

The magic would not save the patent, it would simply allow them to live normally until the disease finally took their life. Unfortunately, every theoretical attempt Tatsuya made at destroying the virus was too dangerous for the patient, so the spell would only be able to bring the patient off bed rest.

While he was still disappointed in himself, he supposed it was better than nothing.

The room was crowded with people anxious to see if Tatsuya's experimental spell had worked. The patient's daughter, bodyguards, nieces, nephews, and cousins all showed up to watch.

Magicians with far more skill than Tatsuya conducted the spell, filling the room with a calming ivory light. It shone on the patients face, making her seem more alive than she had since she first fell unconscious.

Then, for the first time in weeks, Yotsuba Miya opened her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Last year, if someone had asked Miyuki about her family, she would have told them that they were too resistant and stubborn to ever be altered from within. They were cruel, arrogant, uncaring, discriminatory monsters who — with a few exceptions — only cared about her for her magical talent.

Then, two months ago, she would have answered that they were even worse than she first realized; her Onii-sama was the most powerful magician in history, but he was _still_ judged unfairly.

Her hatred and disgust for them had grown over months, and she realized they were mindless demons who acted based on fear and whatever orders her aunt decided to give them.

However, if someone were to ask her now, she would tell them — with no small amount of astonishment — that they were actually _capable_ of coming to their own conclusions.

Every member of the Yotsuba had intellectually known that Tatsuya was the genius behind the mask of Taurus Silver, but they had never truly understood. Rather than shower him in praise, they would turn their eyes towards him in scorn as their emotions overpowered their logic.

Until two months ago, when they had been greeted with a seemingly cured Yotsuba Miya.

Her Mom's recovery had been a drop of water in the ocean of the things Tatsuya had done, but — unlike before — its ripples became a tsunami that could not be ignored.

The Yotsuba were finally realizing the truth of who her brother was; Miyuki kept looking through windows to see if pigs had learned to fly. It made as much sense as anything else happening recently!

The change had started with little things: a decrease in gossip, fewer confrontations, and Miyuki would even occasionally catch people looking at him with begrudging respect. People even stopped questioning Miyuki's respect for him, instead wordlessly supporting her as she watched him train.

Her Onii-sama did not trust any of their attempts to apologize, so Miyuki was constantly treated to evening entertainment. Few things made her happier than watching former bullies try to repair the bonds they, themselves broke, only to be greeted with intense (though not _unwarranted_ ) suspicion.

But even that entertainment was far from the best change: Miya Shiba. Miyuki _intellectually_ knew her mom's life was on the same time limit she would have had without treatment, but sometimes she seemed so healthy that it sounded impossible. She could move like normal, talk like normal, and even use magic as well as she used to.

Tatsuya had told her not to use her mental magic — it would be stupid to speed up her death — but her systematic magic was impecable as always.

Which meant she could be Miyuki's teacher again!

"Careful, Miyuki. This is very destructive," her mom reminded her.

"Right, Oka-sama…." Miyuki mumbled, hands shaking at her concentration. "H-how is this?"

"You need to put in a little more magic, but good job. I think you'll be able to learn niflheim within the next few months, if you keep this up."

Miyuki glowed at the praise, made even happier by the fact that her mom was capable of saying it. Then her face fell as she glanced to the side.

"...Maybe Onii-sama could come help too?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Why would he? He may be a perfect weapon in terms of combat strength, but he can't do systematic magic. It seems illogical to have him join us," Miya explained, also glancing to the side.

Just outside of the training range, Tatsuya was standing tall and watching — the epitome of a perfect soldier. He would never flinch, adjust himself, or complain, so Miyuki knew she had to do the last one for him.

"Please, Oka-sama? He probably understands the theory better than anyone in the Yotsuba, and he-I mean… even you can't deny that he's capable, right?"

Miya remained silent as she thought over what her daughter had said. Miyuki bit her lip as held in the words she wanted to say and looked up at her mother with trepidation.

'Even you can't deny that he's your son, right?' she had wanted to ask. Unfortunately, that would probably just cause her mom to close up, so that was not an option.

Finally, her mom caved.

"...I suppose you have a point. He can come," Miya admitted, causing Miyuki to light up. Comparing the small glow of joy Miyuki experienced at the earlier praise to this would be like comparing a candle to a nuclear bomb.

Giggling with joy, Miyuki immediately ran over to her brother, ignoring the inner voice reminding her that running was not lady-like. It did not matter, her Mom and brother loved each other again!

Okay, that might have been a bit of a stretch, but they were at least closer than they had been in years. The point was, Miyuki's plan was working!

"Onii-sama!" she called, causing him to look up. "Did you hear what we were talking about?"

"I saw you discussing something, but I have not paid attention to the words. You can talk to Miya-sama however you want, I will only remove your privacy if it seems like you're in dang-"

"That's not the _point_ , Onii-sama!"

Tatsuya blinked several times, genuinely caught off guard. "I'm… sorry?"

"Come on," Miyuki reached out and grabbed his hand, "I want you to join us!"

"Are you sur-"

Not bothering to answer, Miyuki simply pulled Tatsuya up and dragged him along. Things could not be better!

* * *

Mion, Uryu Hattori's older sister, leaned over her desk, a frustrated helplessness filling her expression. Her parents were — as always — gone that night, so it was her job to deal with any problems.

Because of course, why would a highschool girl _not_ want to raise a kid in her limited free time?

On the positive side, Uryu's nightmares had been happening less often. She still had no idea what they were from, but maybe the stress-relieving origami she was forcing him to do every night was helping. Or it could be the calming tea she made him take before school. Or the bubble machine she got him. Or, maybe, her efforts were pointless and had not helped at all.

Another possibility — and the last one she wanted to consider — was that the improvement in his sleep was due to that man. "That man," meaning the adult Mion had heard Uryu whisper to his friends about when he thought she was not listening.

It was already creepy enough that an adult man was approaching him, but Mion feared Uryu was being completely drawn in by whatever the man was planning. She had been so absorbed in her own life — school, homework, finding a college, getting Uryu and herself food, doing laundry, kendo club — that she had no idea how long her brother had been meeting with him. How could she do anything to help, if she had no idea what was going on in her brother's life?

More than anything, Mion wanted her parents to come home. Instinctually, she felt like the presence of "responsible adults" would fix all of her problems. But, even as she wanted them to come, she doubted it would help; her parents knew nothing about Uryu, what would they be able to do anyways?

So, in the end, it was just her. She had considered calling the police several times, but hesitated. If the police found out how often their parents left her in charge, they might decide to take her and Uryu into foster care. It was possible she was overexaggerating — it might not even be illegal — but she would _not_ take the risk of being separated from her brother.

Mion took a few more deep breaths, trying to keep herself from shaking. The dim, orange light of the lamp below her shined on her face and covered it in a sleep-inducing warmth. Maybe Uryu was not the only one who needed the stress-relieving tricks.

Her elbows came to rest on the desk, allowing her to hold up her head and massage it. From what she had seen, Uryu was being pulled farther and farther into the web that guy — Chitoge, she remembered — was building. Was her fear of separation really worth putting her brother in danger?

No. Never.

Body shaking with hesitation, Mion opened up her phone. Right before pushing call, she again paused.

It was 2:00 am, the middle of the night. Maybe she was not thinking well from exhaustion, and calling the police would seem silly in the morning.

Or maybe the better-thinking morning-Mion would be a coward who put her own selfish happiness over her brother's safety.

Taking one final deep breath, Mion called the police.

* * *

Being woken up at 6:30 was never fun. Being woken up at 6:30 because your sister was a paranoid idiot who called the police? _Really_ not fun.

Uryu had just spent the last few _hours_ answering stupid questions about Mr. Chitoge. Now, Uryu knew he could not trust the police enough to tell them the truth — the Yotsuba could be anywhere, after all — but he respected them enough to not run away.

That respect was quickly being drained as they continued to ask the same questions.

 _"Has he asked you for anything?" they would inquire._

 _"Yes. He wants my help in liberating the world from the evil which has infected it," Uryu answered truthfully, but just vague enough to not give them any tools against Mr. Chitoge._

 _"...Really…. What, specifically, has he asked you to do?"_

 _"Convince more people to join our cause and find information on the enemies!"_

 _"...I see…."_

And on and on it went. It almost seemed like the police did not believe him! They seemed to think he was just a kid who was being tricked, when, in actuality, they were being fooled by the magicians!

It was infuriating to be treated like a kid again, especially after Mr. Chitoge explained to him that his accomplishments made him more qualified than almost any adult when it came to combating the magicians.

His sister was going crazy; Uryu was fine, there was no reason for her to _call the police_. Honestly, he was half-convinced they should be interrogating her instead. He had tried to show his maturity, and confronted her with a sound, logical, _undeniable_ argument — "I'm fine!" "Are you?" "Yes! I haven't been brainwashed! I know exactly who our enemies are: the magicians!" — but was shot down .

Mion had raised an eyebrow and responded in so many 'Mmhm's that Uryu wondered if she was incapable of opening her mouth to speak.

It was _so_ annoying; his interrogators may have been humans, but they were just getting in the way. Other than Mr. Chitoge and himself, it sometimes seemed like humanity was doomed! At least they had a few people to fight against the magicians for them.

A very, _very_ small number of people, unfortunately. Uryu did not know why, but after her trip Miyuki had started pulling away from them. Uryu was annoyed, but finally comprehended that Miyuki had never been more than a pretty face anyways — he had Mr. Chitoge to thank for that realization.

That explanation satisfied him, but Chandra and Yuusuke were _super_ distracted by Miyuki's silent treatment. In fact, Uryu was starting to worry that he would lose them for good!

There was only one thing he could do: ask Mr. Chitoge about what his next instructions were.

* * *

Another report arrived in his inbox, and Tatsuya could not help but sigh. Yes, it was convenient that the Yotsuba were giving him more respect, but it was also highly suspicious.

Regardless of what his sister and aunt said, there was no way his simple act of helping Miya could change their views towards him. He did not know why they were doing it, but there was no way he would _ever_ be stupid enough to trust the smiles in the hallways. Or the way they sent reports on things that could danger Miyuki. Or the way the kids would sometimes watch him train. Or the way they stopped whispering insults around him. Or the way they would offer help him with his systematic magic.

He might not know how doing those things would benefit them, but he was not foolish enough to believe it was merely good will.

That being said, the reports they gave him were still useful, so it would be illogical to reject them. He opened the report, allowing the holographic page to appear before him.

It seemed Uryu Hattori's sister had called the police on her brother's strange actions, which was actually more responsibility than he had expected of her. A Yotsuba branch family officer made sure he was included in the group sent over; Tatsuya could manipulate the police's report and eventual decision with ease.

A quick scan showed that even the non-Yotsuba officers were beginning to question the boy's sanity. Apparently he had been marked as "delusional, arrogant, and showing signs of manipulation." Tatsuya felt the Chiba-trained officer might be slightly biased — she _had_ been trained by a family of magicians, after all — but she had compiled a decent report nonetheless. All the Yotsuba officer had done was send the finished report to Tatsuya.

But where to go from here? If Tatsuya let the police take Uryu away, the boy would probably be abandoned by the man; Tatsuya would lose one of his only links to an enemy of the Yotsuba. A trap could be set, but the police would likely have a few qualms with the Yotsuba's methods.

Brutal torture and manipulation was usually forwned on by the local authoraties.

Uryu did not personally know anything of note, so Tatsuya doubted Chitoge would put effort into rescuing him. Uryu might do something when he thought no one was looking, but Tatsuya hated to rely on a small chance to ensure victory. The best thing to do might be having the Yotsuba-officer get stationed to watch Uryu, and (hopefully) win the boy's trust over time.

Satisfied with the solution, Tatsuya typed instructions, a time to meet, and a more secure way to get in contact. Realizing Maya should probably be made aware, Tatsuya emailed her as well. She might not have any say in the way he protected Miyuki, but, while he lived on her property, it was best to try to stay in her good-graces.

The biggest concern with the plan was simple: the loyalty of the officer. If it was discovered the man was unable to keep up the act or not loyal to the Yotsuba, Tatsuya's plan would need some on-the-spot changes.

And the best solution to that was constant surveillance.

If Tatsuya placed a specific object on the man, then he would be able to watch everything the officer did. So long as he decomposed and recomposed the object a few times, there would be no place on Earth Tatsuya's elemental sight coudl not see him.

Anything to protect Miyuki after all.

* * *

There was nothing more annoying than having finished 99% of the work, but still failing because missing the last 1% rounds it down to zero. Through many trials and tribulations, Miyuki had managed the nearly-impossible task of getting the Yotsuba to see her brother's value.

She had never considered that he might reject their new behavior.

In hindsight, it seemed obvious. If they neglected and abused him his whole life, there was no way he would trust them right away. She had just hoped that — given how quickly he had forgiven her for ignoring him — he would be able to do the same for them.

It was the first time she was annoyed at how special she was to him.

At least the Yotsuba were finally starting to see the true him. They had always been so shallow, comparing the siblings to a painting a pebble. They appreciated the artificial but expertly-crafted beauty Miyuki showed, but never bothered to break through Tatsuya's hard, dull outer shell to see within the geode.

Now — after she had spoon fed them the truth by cracking her brother open and showing them — they could finally see his true beauty. Maybe Miyuki _did_ need to lead the Yotsuba; they were completely helpless without her.

"Miss?" a maid called from the hallway outside her room. "Your phone has been ringing, would you like to accept the call from Miss Chandra?"

Belatedly, Miyuki remembered she had left her phone to charge that morning, but forgot to go back for it. Not a big deal, especially with servants like the Yotsuba's, but she always felt like letting them see who was calling was a violation of privacy. Oh well.

"Yes, please," Miyuki touched a screen on her wall and opened the door. "Thank you."

Even as she accepted the call, Miyuki wondered what it could be about. There were not in a group project together, and she doubted it would be a homework question (not when Chandra was so close to Yuusuke). Despite the school year having started, and the two girls sharing a number of classes, they had not interacted much. Or, more accurately, Miyuki had been somewhat avoiding her former friend. It was just hard to look at her knowing the girl had almost gotten her kidnapped and used as a hostage — intentionally or not.

She accepted the call.

"Chan-"

"MIYUKI!" the other girl screamed at the top of her lungs. "I'm sorry for whatever I did that made you angry! It took me until now to work up the courage to ask you, but I'm really, really sorry. I just-I mean I think it probably had something to do with… er, I mean I think it was probably because of the thing I asked you to do, but I didn't-I mean, I'm sorRY!" It was easy to tell how much the situation was bothering her just by the return of the mostly-cured stuttering.

"...Yes, it had to do with the favor you asked from me."  
"I thought so. Mr. Chitoge didn't seem all that surprised when you stopped coming to meetings, but when Uryu asked he told Uryu that you were just handling something that meant you couldn't show up at our meetings anymore. And-and I know he's amazing and helping us and working for good and I shouldn't distrust him, but… but I did!" Chandra confessed, and Miyuki was left slightly amused at her overreaction to the 'sin.'

"It's fine. You're right, he hasn't asked me to do something…" Miyuki paused, unsure of how much detail she should reveal to her normal, middle-school-innocence-filled friend. If Tatsuya was here she could just ask him, but she knew she wanted to tell Chandra the truth from her own words.

At least she knew it was impossible to trace a call on a Yotsuba's phone.

"I… didn't agree with what he wanted me to do. My family is fairly influential in the magic world, so that's why he wanted me."  
"Um… The Shiba family?"  
"No, my family on my Mom's side. Anyways, he tried to-to use me as a hostage and force them to do things that were bad for them. I got angry at him, but I was able to escape so it all worked out. My brother made sure to keep my name out of all the reports, but you should be able to find articles on what happened."  
Miyuki's long explanation ended, but Chandra did not speak. Knowing the news must have shocked her friend, Miyuki gave the girl some time to compose her response.

"...I-he… _hostage_?"

"Chandra, if you're willing to listen to me, I don't think you should work with him anymore. The people who had served him during that had really dangerous guns and combat training. I don't know if you be safe trusting him."

"But he's doing what's best for humanity!"

"Or is he just telling us what we want to hear?"

"He-he couldn't be. Miyuki, you're-" Chandra cut off, having realized her own thoughts had pondered the adult's true motivations as well. She had wondered why he needed them, and why he had not really done much against the magicians before getting Uryu's assistance.

"I'm not necessarily telling you he's evil," even though he is, Miyuki mentally added, "but I want you to be careful around him. I don't trust him as much as I think you three are."

"But I… I can't just abandon Uryu. I-he-I mean… he's done so much for me. And I know he won't accept what you said as anything but the magicians having gotten to you."

A wave of guilt flooded Miyuki as she realized Chandra was on the verge of tears. Her stuttering had returned; her voice was wavering; she had sniffled a few times while saying the last bit. Not quite knowing how to approach the situation, she decided it was time to step back a bit.

"Why don't you think about that a bit. If you want to, we can talk at school tomorrow and I'll answer your questions. Does that sound okay?"

"Can-can I tell Yuusuke about… this?"

Now _that_ was something she had not considered. While she knew Yuusuke was Uryu's "Second in Command," she had no idea how loyal he was. If Chandra — the "Commander of CAD Research" — was willing to listen to her side of the story, maybe he was too.

Worth a shot, she supposed.

"Alright, if you think you can trust him with this, go ahead and tell him. The only thing I'm worried about is the revelation that my family is full of influential magicians."

"Don't worry! I-I've changed their minds about that a bit. They're only scared of-er, we're only against the super, super dangerous ones."

Miyuki decided it was not a good time to mention that her brother was the most powerful magician in history.

"Alright, good luck then. Just think about what I said."

"Okay."

The call ended, and Miyuki relaxed against the chair.

* * *

"Um.. Dad? Can I talk to you?"

"What's wrong, Princess?" her dad immediately asked, perhaps picking up on how she was sad enough to call him "Dad" rather than "Daddy."

Maybe she had also been pulling away from her parents — doing the same things Uryu had done which led to his sister getting worked up enough to call the police.

Impossible. Her parents might have been sending her worried glances, but they certainly had not overreacted enough to call the police.

 _But what if she had?_

"I-see my friends — two of them — are kinda not getting along right now."

"Ah, I had a lot of relationship drama when I was your age too. Do you want some advice?"  
Annoyance caused Chandra to scowl; it was much, _much_ more important than the other arguments she had with her school friends. They could not even be compared!

Unless Miyuki was overreacting.

No, Miyuki was the most responsible person she knew — barring Tatsuya, of course.

"I talked to Mi-the one who pulled away, and asked her why. It was just a little bit after we asked her to do a favor for us that Mr. Chitoge — I told you about him, right?" her dad nodded. "Right, um, that Mr. Chitoge wanted someone to do. She went to do it, but then she said we kinda got her involved in something sorta dangerous by asking her to help us with that."

At the word "dangerous," Chandra's father immediately tensed. However, taking a few deep breaths like Uryu taught her, Chandra was able to continue.

"U-The other friend doesn't seem like he cares much, so he's not trying to fix what we did wrong by asking her to do that, and he's kinda our leader and stuff. Anyways, um, it seems like it was actually pretty dangerous. There were articles on it and everything, and now Miyuki says she doesn't think we should trust Mr. Chitoge. Um, yeah. So anyways, I don't think Uryu will agree to stop trusting Mr. Chitoge, but I'm not sure I still do right now."

"Well," her dad said after mulling it over for a moment. "Mr. Chitoge is his uncle, so it makes sense that Uryu would have trouble turning from him."

Chandra's heart skipped a beat.

She had forgotten; when her parents wanted to know why an unknown adult was meeting with them, Yuusuke had lied with a quick "he's Uryu's uncle." Chandra had not done anything to deny that, and had even referred to him as "Uryu's Uncle" at the beginning. Could she really reveal so much about their organization over a concern that might not even be valid?

 _Traitor!_

But what if Miyuki was right, and Mr. Chitoge really was dangerous? Police were still looking around Uryu's house for clues as to who Mr. Chitoge was, would her dad be angry when he found out about the lie. Or worse, what if Uryu and Yuusuke got hurt because Chandra had not come clean?  
 _Coward!_  
"He's not Uryu's Uncle!" she shouted, startling her father. The admission carried with it a heavy burden, and she was sure she would not be allowed to reclaim her position as "Commander of CAD Research." No room for traitors after all.

And even that sobering thought was nowhere near as bad as the disappointed look which followed her dad's initial shock at the confession. Tears began rolling down her cheeks, but she did not make a sound.

"I… I'm not happy you lied to me, but…" he trailed off, then took a deep breath. "But what's most important right now is making sure you and your friends are safe. Princess, please, look at me. Why did you lie, and what's been going on during all your "playdates" at Uryu's house?"

And now her dad was angry at her too! And he would tell her mom, and she would be angry. And then Uryu would find out, and he would tell Yuusuke. And Miyuki was already angry at her for the favor-hostage thing. And if Miyuki was in danger, Tatsuya was angry.

 _Useless!_

"Chandra!" The shout and hands shaking her shoulders brought her back to reality. "I need you to tell me if anyone's in immediate danger. This is really important!"

"N-no! No… _immediate_ danger. It's just a situation that could easily become dangerous for… some people."

It was a bit hard to tell if Mr. Chitoge was really more dangerous than Miyuki's family. He had nearly gotten Miyuki killed, but Tatsuya had taken down trained highschoolers without even using magic! And that one time with the car almost hitting Miyuki, he had cast magic faster than Chandra knew was possible.

And it was not just Tatsuya.

When she was at Miyuki's party, the other girl's aunt had come. Chandra distinctly remembered the feeling of uncontrollable _terror_ which had rocked through her being. The woman had then confronted Tatsuya, and the following conversation (recorded and sent to Uryu) had undeniably been a threat. Was Mr. Chitoge really the only danger here? Maybe, like her dad said, Miyuki was just picking the sides of her relatives.

"...Princess…? Chandra!" At her name, Chandra finally looked up, flinching at the sudden noise. "Please Princess, I need you to tell me about this. If one of your friends is really in danger, I can't help unless I know about it. What can you tell me about this?"

Sniffling again, Chandra wiped tears from her cheeks before collapsing into her father's arms; full-blown sobs began to escape her.

"I-I think we almost hurt her. She told-I looked up what she was talking about, and it was-we asked her to… there was this ship Mr. Chitoge wanted her to meet him on for-to give her information or something and… and all the people on it were taken hostage and Miyuki thinks he planned it from the beginning and it's all my fault and I keep ruining _everything_ and I don't know what to do or how to fix-"

"Shh Princess," her dad began rubbing calming circles on her back, helping her calm down. "...You weren't trying to hurt her. All that matters now is that you try to make things better."

"But it's still-I still-"

"I know, but it's not your fault. I should have put more effort into keeping tabs on the people you spend time with to prevent things like this from happening. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault! And… and even if it's not mine, what can I do to fix it? I don't want Uryu and Yuusuke to be angry, but I don't-I mean… Miyuki shouldn't have to worry about this either! But I'm just a kid, and Daddy there's people with guns and weapons and _magic_ and-and we have magic too, but I don't see how we can fix-"

"Shhh Princess, it's okay." Her father pulled back slightly and made her look at him. "You're right, we shouldn't try going against people like that ourselves-"

Chandra blushed, realizing that was exactly what the "committee" had tried doing.

"-but do you know what we _can_ do? Contact others who can. Based on the rumors I've heard, is your "Mr. Chitoge" the person who the police stationed at your friend Uryu's house are looking for?"

Chandra nodded; there was no point in hiding it now.

"Okay then. I need you to do something for me, okay Princess? I'm going to contact the police, and I want you to tell them everything you just told me. Can you do that?"

"I-I think so."

"Good."

* * *

Chandra sat — _terrified_ — in the car seat, as frozen to her spot as Medusa's victims. Intellectually, she knew her dad had asked for a police car to take them to the station in order to keep her safe, but she still felt like she was a criminal being taken to jail.

Her only consolation was the constant knowledge that her dad was sitting next to her; he would be able to fix this. At least, he would handle it a million times better than she could alone.

"U-um," she started, getting the attention of the officer driving her.

"Yes?"

"Could…" deep breath, do not stutter. "Could we _not_ tell Uryu that I talked to you. I just… don't think he would be very happy with me and I don't want him to thing I've betrayed him even though I kinda have…"

Cursing herself for trailing off, Chandra tensed and waited for her answer.

"Do you think you'll be put in danger if he finds out?"

"Oh, no, Uryu's super nice to me," she explained. "It's just he… doesn't tolerate traitors to the cause. Which I understand, of course! As the General of our struggle against the might of the 'Undesirables,' he needs to have constant reassurance that the people he's with won't sell him out to the enemy. He just might not understand that the reason I'm doing this is because I don't trust Mr. Chitoge… it has nothing to do with him…"

She continued talking, but the volume lowered until it was just indecipherable muttering as she stared at her lap. This also kept her from noticing how her Dad and the police officer — who really should have been paying more attention to the road — were staring at her in flabbergasted disbelief.

Uryu's majestic style of speech and diction had rubbed off on her.

"F-for something like this, if we really think it's the only way to get answers out of him, then we're going to tell him, but for now keeping it a secret will probably be fine."

"Oh, really? Thank you!"

"Yeah, well… I can't make any promises, but I'll do my best."

Instead of answering, Chandra simply sent him the largest smile he had ever seen.

* * *

Other than his continued reports to Yotusba Maya and Tatsuya, Suzaku L. — one of the Yotsuba's most accomplished assassins — had almost entirely become a regular police officer. It was a bit of a weird feeling, but he did not altogether despise the mini-vacation from Yotsuba work.

He did, however, hate the boy who came with it.

Suzaku knew it was unfair to judge the boy by comparing him to Tatsuya. It did not matter that Uryu was actually older; it was not fair to compare _anyone_ to Tatsuya. And yet he still found himself _astounded_ by the lack of maturity and general naïveté the boy possessed.

Personally, he thought the boy was a lost cause; unfortunately, his fellow officer was _sure_ she would be able to change his mind about cooperating with them.

"...W-well then, why don't we… talk about other things for a while," the woman tried after several unsuccessful attempts at questioning. Suzaku still thought torturing the information out of him would be more efficient, but, aware it was not the way the police did things, he held his tongue.

"Fine." Uryu grumbled.

Suzaku felt nothing but overwhelming pity for the boy's sister.

"Right, well… that's a nice computer you have. What games do you like to play on it?"  
Somehow, someway, that simple remark caused the boy to feel outrageously offended.

"That is not for _games_!" he screeched. "I use it to contact my allies in our constant struggle against evil. I simply haven't been using it much lately due to how many of them were seduced by the enemy into abandoning our cause! I don't have time for traitors…"

Suzaku watched as his partner blinked in shock for several seconds — obviously at a loss for words. Despite being an accomplished woman, she had never dealt with a child like the Uryu boy.

Until now, Suzaku had never truly appreciated Tatsuya while working with him. At the beginning, he had respected the boy's abilities (even while thinking of him as a monster), which then transitioned to genuine awe (after seeing Yotsuba Miya's astounding recovery), and now had become a _deep_ appreciation; he internally promised to never doubt the Shiba boy again.

Finally realizing she had not responded, Suzaku's partner gave a phony laugh and smile.

"Yes, that's… truly _magnificent_ in its uses," she said, so sincere Suzuku had no doubt it was a lie. Even she probably did not think the boy was worth saving anymore.

A pity it was her job.

Suzaku's phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to quickly glance at the text.

"Kallen."

"Hm?" she asked, finally looking away from the boy before her.

"They've brought the other witness here, I'm going to go help with that."

His partner gave a nod, then turned back to the boy who was demanding answers as to the witness' identities. Suzaku was starting to see why the text stated the witness had asked to be kept anonymous; the boy certainly looked like he was prepared to commit murder.

At least, he might look that way to a civilian. No one who had witnessed Tatsuya Shiba's murderous intent would ever say the same.

Suzaku entered another room just as the new witness was kept in.

* * *

Chandra tried to resist squeaking as a new officer entered the room simultaneously. He was an intimidating man, and reminded her just a little too much of Mr. Chitoge for her to feel comfortable.

The nice car-officer scooted over until they were both sitting across from her, and Chandra was struck by a sense of dejavu; this looked like a good-cop, bad-cop routine!

Then, the scary man pulled out a recorder and clipboard, and Chandra realized he was actually mostly there to record the information. She tried to not let the disappointment show on her face, as explaining "it's different in the movies" would be way too embarrassing.

"Alright," nice-car-cop began, "I'll just get a few required questions out of the way first. Miss Chandra, could you please explain your relationship to the victim?"

"Er-right!" she nodded. "So I… only really got to know him this year. From what I understand, Uryu and his friends were playing basketball together, and then they almost hit Miyuki — er, she's a girl at our school — with the ball, but Tatsuya — um, her brother — stopped it. Tatsuya got angry and scared Uryu and his friends… so they decided to start working against him."

"I… working against him?" nice- car-officer asked, and Chandra realized she probably sounded crazy. It was hard though! The only way to really understand what he was capable of was knowing Tatsuya, and she doubted he would give the police the answers they wanted.

"Uh, yeah… so anyways, they started a group," Chandra clenched her teeth, well-aware she was betraying her two closest friends with this, "He called it the 'committee.' Then my friends joined, so I joined."

Based off their reactions — at least, the actions of nice-car-cop, scary-cop's face did not change — she knew Uryu had not told them this story. Chandra wished her dad was with her, but knew it would be even harder to admit what she had done if he was. That was why she had adamantly refused to allow him to sit in on the questioning with her, despite her internal desires.

"What sorts of things did you do in this 'committee' you created?"

"Well, uh, we would go to parties and… spend the whole time… stalking him…" she admitted, embarrassment turning her cheeks a cherry-red. The scary-cop raised an eyebrow at her admission, seemingly entertained for a reason she could not decipher.

"I… see… anything else?"

The blush became deeper, turning a blood-red.

"We kinda — at one point — um… asked some highschool martial artists to beat him up?" she said, her voice getting higher-pitched with every word. "Don't worry though! He was fine! Instead, he beat up the highschoolers and they didn't seem to have any problems afterwards!"

"I'll bet," scary-cop agreed easily, although nice-car-cop seemed confused. Given his small amused smile (the first emotion she had seen from the man), Chandra wondered if the scary-cop had talked to Tatsuya before coming in to see her.

"What about with his sister, Miyuki Shiba?"

"Ah, well… at first Uryu asked me to be friends with her to, um, get information on Tatsuya's home life…. It wasn't just a trick though! I like Miyuki a lot and really want to be her friend, I just hadn't had the courage to approach her until Uryu supported me. So really! Uryu's not a bad person!"

"We're not saying he is," nice-car-cop reassured her with a smile. "In the car, I think you mentioned 'traitors' to your group. Could you explain that a bit."

"Uh-sure! See, after he messed up that first time with the basketball, Tatsuya began working on blending into class better. I don't think he changed his personality, but small things were different. Like, he was always aloof and imposing and unreachable because of his abilities, but he made an effort to talk to people for fun! I mean, not for fun, but when he wasn't required to-"

"Back to the 'traitors,' please," scary-cop reminded her sternly.

"R-right! Well, the organization tried to trick him into revealing his true self a few times, but he just kept getting better and better at keeping himself hidden under a mask of… normal, I guess. The new school year started, so we were all moved to different classes. The other members of the committee lost interest and started thinking Tatsuya wasn't so bad, so they left. Now it's only Uryu, Yuusuke, and me left. But then we started getting help from Mr. Chitoge, so it really didn't change much."

"I see. Rather convenient timing for 'Mr. Chitoge.'"

Giving a small glare to his not-child-friendly colleague, nice-car-cop continued with the questions, asking "What can you tell us about your first encounter with him?"

"Well, he sent us an email… I guess. And then he started asking us to do things for him to prove our loyalty to the cause."

"Do you think any of what he asked you to do helped him do illegal things? Don't worry, this is not a case against you, but I would still like to know. Did you help him do things you weren't supposed to?"

"Of course no-" Chandra paused, suddenly remembering Miyuki's confession. If doing what Mr. Chitoge asked of her had nearly led to Miyuki's kidnapping and possible death, could she really say it had not been illegal?

"Miss Chandra?"

"I… I don't want to answer that."

There was a pause as the policemen considered her answer.

"Alright. We won't force you to answer questions. Then, did you agree with Uryu when he wanted to start trusting this adult? Did you agree with him on what he said about your classmate?"

"Well, Uryu's an amazing person. He had done so much for me, and gave us an opportunity to join the cause, so Yuusuke and I were both super grateful to him. He-he's wonderful and kind and would never intentionally hurt anyone-" except Tatsuya, she realized. "Er, and he only wants what's best. So we didn't really question him, but Uryu might have just made a mistake, cause he's not a bad person and would never try to do anything wrong and he's super nice and I owe a lot to him so please-"

"We're not accusing him, we're just trying to understand where this is all coming from."

"You just don't _understand_!" Chandra shouted, emotions welling up. "Only people who have seen Tatsuya before know what he can do and know why we _need_ to fight for our-"

"I know Tatsuya," scary-cop admitted, halting her rant and causing nice-car-cop to do a double take.

"I-you do?"

"Yes. I'm an acquaintance of his aunt. Long, black hair, terrifying, always wearing a dress?"

Chandra's eyes widened as she realized the woman he was referring to.

"I know him, and I get it. For a long time, I was scared of him too. He's an unusually dangerous magician, and cannot be considered normal by any stretch of the word. But, recently, he changed my mind and the minds of all the other people who thought that. He used his abilities to save someone important to us all — without fighting. He's dangerous, sure, but he uses his gifts well."

"I-um…"

"Just… think about the reason you reacted the way you did. In the end, it might end up having more to do with you than with Tatsuya."

* * *

A heavy avalanche of exhaustion crashed onto Yuusuke as he groaned; he had not been able to make contact with his fellow committee members for days, and it was starting to get to him.

Constant contact would be overwhelming, but they should at least _try_ to respond to his texts!

And, to top the whole awful week off, he had been arrested!

Okay, technically, he was being taken in to answer questions regarding a case the police had, but it was basically the same thing. Uryu growled under his breath as he opened the door-

"Chandra?"

Said girl blinked at her name suddenly being called, before looking up and seeing him.

"Yuusuke!"

The relief in her voice was obvious; she must have been a little nervous sitting by herself.

"I'm glad you're here too," Yuusuke whispered to her when he sat down. "Do you know what this is all about. I mean, it probably has to do with whatever's going on with Uryu, but-"

"It's- um… it's complicated," Chandra finally revealed without actually answering his question.

"...Yeah. I got that."

"It's about Mr. Chitoge," she finally told him. "Uryu's sister found out about him and doesn't trust him and… I'm not sure I do either."

"What?" Yuusuke demanded. Once Uryu had shown support for the man, Chandra — the loyal agent she was — had immediately agreed. For that to change, something must have happened.

He did not like not knowing things.

"Do you remember that one thing we asked Miyuki to do over break? The favor we wanted right before she basically shut off all communication with us?"

"Yeah," Yuusuke agreed. It surprised him that the girl was so quick to give up after such a small favor — how hard could going on a luxury yacht ride be? — but he had dismissed it as not knowing the girl well. Sure, she was pretty, but Yuusuke had never been head over heels for her the way Uryu had been.

"I confronted her about it, and she told me to look it up if I really wanted to know. Yuusuke, I-I think we really messed up trusting Mr. Chitoge for that."

Yuusuke had been about to ask what she meant, but stopped. He vaguely remembered how the news his parents had been listening to a few days ago had shocked them; they had been talking about it over dinner.

 _"I can't believe that happened!"_

 _"-those poor people-"_

 _"-being taken hostage-"_

 _"-leader escaped-"_

 _"-they could have been **killed** -"_

"But… but… Mr. Chitoge couldn't have possibly known that was going to happen! It's not our fault the one-in-a-million chance of something going wrong took place!"

"That's just it. Based off what Miyuki heard, she doesn't think it _was_ an accident. Mr. Chitoge might have meant for that to happen all along. I mean, not that it's Uryu's fault or anything! I just don't think we should really be trusting Mr. Chitoge will all this."

Could she be right? If they had almost gotten Miyuki kidnapped-if he had almost gotten his classmate _killed_ , then how could he go back to trusting the man who orchestrated it all?

"Did… have you told Uryu about this?"

"N-no. I haven't seen him, and-and even then I wouldn't… how could I tell him this? He's always been in love with Miyuki, but he's also the most enthusiastic about supporting Mr. Chitoge. Sure, he was annoyed when Miyuki stopped being in contact with us, but she's still important to him. How could we tell him we told her-we almost got her kidna-we…"

Chandra bent over, and Yuusuke initially thought she was about to throw up. Then he noticed the tears and slight tremors vibrating through her body.

"We could have gotten her killed."

The words were muttered at a barely audible volume, but silenced any retort Yuusuke could have made. The gravity of what they might have done fully crashed down on him; they had messed up. _Bad_.

Yuusuke pulled out his phone, doing a quick search into articles on the subject. He needed to know for sure that this was real, and not just a silly product of Chandra's nervous, paranoid over-imagination and respect of Miyu-

The ship's name was the same one they asked Miyuki to get on.

Further into the article, specifics of the experience were mentioned. Which guns were used; which men were brought; what training they had. It was a miracle the passengers had made it out safely, and none of the articles seemed to know how that had happened.

And, if it was because of Miyuki, it was _their_ fault.

"Uryu," he began, trying to formulate his thoughts. "Uryu needs to know. We can't keep it from him — have you told the police about this?"

She shook her head.

"No. I've mostly been telling them about our earlier experiences with M- with that man. I don't-I don't really know how we would explain it. I mean, um, as far as the police knows, that man doesn't have anything against Miyuki and has never met her before. I don't know why he'd want that."

"Could it be about her brother? I mean, he approached us because we were against Tatsuya, right? There must be-some adult probably knows enough about Tatsuya to believe us."

Yuusuke cursed himself for allowing his voice to crack slightly at the end. Who would believe them? They had no proof, no credentials, and no support; the fact that they were _children_ had never been more obvious to him. They could have killed their friend, and there was _nothing_ they could do to-

"You're right," Chandra suddenly realized, contrary to Yuusuke's previous thoughts. "One of the police officers — the scary-cop — he knows Tatsuya!"

* * *

Suzaku knew he was good at his job. Or, he had thought so.

From birth, he had been raised as an assassin through and through. His fighting ability spoke for itself, and he specialized in taking other aliases to accomplish his missions. In fact, that was the main reason he had been assigned to his current job as an undercover cop instead of someone else.

However, as his "coworker" and partner Kallen told him the subject's friends wanted to speak to the boy, only one throught resonated in his head:

' _I want to go home_!'

Not that it was a _feasible_ option, of course, but it would still be nice. At his level, he was mostly expected to train his skills merely as a weapon, and complete every assignment exactly as ordered. Improvising and changing plans after calculating the risks of each decision was something only the best guardians could do (i.e. Tatsuya Shiba).

Actually, now that the family was starting to accept the prodigy, there was a chance he would not be punished for seeking aid from the boy. Yeah, that was a good idea.

Suzaku could easily break through a military base and assassinate a general with his CAD and the clothes on his back, but dealing with children and temper tantrums was at least 2,348 kilometers outside his comfort zone.

"So? What should we do?" Kallen asked, clearly worried about leaving the children for too long. It seemed even the Uryu boy had been unable to cure her of her frantic mothering over small humans.

"...Let me call my friend. He's been through a situation like this before and should be able to help us."

"Okay, but be sure to run it by me before you implement his suggestion. I'd like to know what's happening, and we can try to make a few tweaks to the plan if need-be."

Once again, Suzaku found himself surprised by her competence; it was rare for civilians to be so careful about seemingly minor things (though being a police officer might remove her from the civilian category).

"Alright, I'll be sure to do that," Suzaku confirmed with a nod. Once she had backed off slightly, he walked to the corner of the room, casting a quick detection spell around himself to make sure no one was listening.

He was safe.

"Shiba-san," he greeted the moment the call went through. "Do you have a moment? There has been a slight change in the situation, and I'm on a bit of a time limit."

"What happened?" Tatsuya asked, direct as ever.

"Two of the children — Chandra and Yuusuke — wish to speak to Uryu. Supposedly, they told the other officers they had some information that might make him more willing to cooperate, but they wanted the only officer present in the room during their talk to be myself."

"What sort of personality have you used during this assignment?"

"I've taken on the role of an intimidating and competent officer. I believe there is little chance they're trying to use the opportunity to escape."

"Logical," Tatsuya acknowledged. "Then what have you done that might set you apart from the other cops in the eyes of those two?"

"I suppose… it might have been my admission that I was personally acquainted with your aunt, and therefore you. I took that risk because the children seemed to believe no one could understand them without meeting you. There's a chance they want to turn the tables on me and conduct their own interrogation."

"I see. Accept the proposal and meet with them in private. I want to see how this goes."

"Understood. I will send you a video recording of the meeting by 10:30."

* * *

With everything that was happening, part of Uryu wished his sister was there. He was being interrogated; his room was searched; his friends had been arrested. Why did she care so much about contacting their parents that she could not just stay with him?

Not that he needed her. He was doing fine by himself, it just seemed stupid.

And his so-called friends were not helping matters.

"You think… the reason Miyuki stopped getting into contact with us, is because of Mr. Chitoge? When he literally only asked her to go on a luxury boat for a few hours during her vacation?" Uryu checked, raising an eyebrow while internally praying for denial from his friends.

"She was almost kidnapped!"

"That's not Mr. Chitoge's fault!" he answered back. Sure, it was an odd coincidence, but things like that happened sometimes. He did not see where his friends were getting the idea that it was Mr. Chitoge's fault; if anything, Tatsuya was probably to blame. For reasons.

"But Miyuki said she saw him there! He was talking to the people who had taken over the ship, and then left on a helicopter they gave him! I think-doesn't that mean he _had_ to have been involved?"

"I saw the articles! No one even knows how the hostages escaped!" before the police arrived, at that. "Maybe Mr. Chitoge managed to charm the guards into letting him take a helicopter, and then he went to go get help! Did you ever think of that? Maybe the person you're trying to accuse is the one who saved her!"

"But the people who attacked were the Ie mahō!" Yuusuke reminded. "They're famous for being anit-magic, so maybe they were working for Mr. Chitoge the whole time-"

" _Or_ , maybe them having common sense when it comes to magic made them easier for Mr. Chitoge to charm."

"Uryu, they're _terrorists_!"

"Sometimes you need to get your hands dirty to get something done!"

Chandra looked back and forth, watching the two like a tennis match. She did not like where this conversation seemed to be going.

"W-well, anyways," she interrupted. "Yuusuke and I just think maybe we should be a little more careful, and at least ask him for his side of the story. Just… be a little more… careful?"

She had not meant to say it like a question, but it was too late to go back without stuttering. Luckily, it seemed Uryu had expected something like that of her and showed no reaction.

Instead, he scowled for a moment, but made eye contact with Yuusuke and read his expression; they could both accept the presented middle-ground.

"Fine. As soon as this whole stupid mess blows over, we'll ask him. And Tatsuya, if Mion doesn't stop us from having our interrogations — _God_ she's paranoid!"

Chandra laughed at his annoyance, and even Yuusuke cracked a smile. It appeared they had forgiven him for his disagreement and were ready to become friends again.

However, now that he had been made aware of their cowardly hesitance, Uryu knew he would never be able to fully trust them again. He needed to talk to Mr. Chitoge.

* * *

Several police officers flinched as a loud **crack** echoed around the room. Turning towards the source, they saw a nearly-erupting teenage girl who had just thrown her phone on the ground.

Mion knew that had probably not been a smart decision, but could not bring herself to regret it. That was the twenty-fifth time that _day_ a call to her parents had brought her to voicemail. And they had not picked up yesterday, or the day before that, or the day before that….

Why even bother to give her their number if it was just going to be a 'pick up when we call, but never bother us.' Really, was it any surprise Uryu had gotten addicted to spy thrillers and shows whose main characters hated their parents? She was half-convinced they were indirectly _responsible_ for the whole mess going on. And of _course_ they could not be bothered to answer her calls so that she knew how to fix it.

Remembering the long tower of unread texts she had sent them over the past week only served to depress her. Calling was one thing, but did they _never_ look at their family phones?

Mion sat down and took a few deep breaths. There were a few possible explanations: her parents might have gotten so used to just using their work phones that they left their other ones, they could have a huge project and just be super absent-minded, or they could be out of range somehow.

Or _maybe_ the most likely answer was right, and they were just irresponsible, pathetic excuses for parents.

The temptation to run home, gather her fellow kendo-club members, and hunt down her parents was growing stronger by the second.

"Miss Hattori?"

"Hm? Oh, yes?" Being called "Miss Hattori" was really tripping her up. She turned to see the female cop who had talked to her brother — Kanon? Karin? No, it was Kallen, right? — approaching her.

"I would like to discuss a suggestion with you, but… would you first like a broom and dustpan? I don't recommend trying to pick up shattered glass with your bare hands."

Mion blushed and turned back to her phone, guilt and embarrassment finally sinking in. She knew she had been childish, but she had been so _angry_ it had not occurred to her until that moment.

"Yes! Yes, please. I'm very sorry about that. I still haven't been able to contact my parents, so you can't ask them questions quite yet, my apologies."

"No worries. While we may decide to open up _another_ investigation into the neglectance presented in your relationship, people who are never around will probably not be of much help to us right now. If we need them, we can look up their work-phone numbers and get in contact."

"Okay, so what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, it seems my partner is acquainted with the kid these other kids did everything around. Um, Tatsuya Shiba, if I remember correctly," a swift nod from Mion confirmed her thoughts. "We think we might be able to use the boy to either draw Chitoge out or to make the kids more willing. We do, however, need your approval first."

Mion leaned back slightly, lost in thought. An officer came by to sweep up the shattered glass, throwing Mion back to all the times she had to do that for Uryu. It was her decision to make, not her parents'.

Then did that make her a failure as a guardian for letting things get out of hand to this degree? She honestly had no idea what she should have done differently, but it was her fault, regardless.

But, if they really thought meeting Tatsuya would fix things, did she have a choice?

No, she knew what her answer was.

* * *

Really, it should not have been as surprising as it was.

From Chandra's video of Miyuki's party, the group had already been made aware of their relationship. Yuusuke knew that — despite the encounter coming across as more of a threat than a conversation — their interaction clearly showed how much she loved them.

They had proof she was protective, so maybe it should have been obvious.

Then again, it might have been so far from what seemed feasible that they had not considered it; if so, Yuusuke deeply regretted their overconfidence.

Because, despite all their preparation, the last thing any of them expected during their 'Tatsuya Questioning' had been for the _Queen of Night_ to greet them when they arrived.

Her engulfing presence weighed down on the room as she observed them with unhidden disdain. Abyss-like eyes stared down at them like a vampire over its prey.

Even scary-cop — Suzaku, she remembered — appeared surprised by her presence, but he got over it much faster. However, instead of helping the children relax, he only made them _more_ uncomfortably aware of the sheer power at her fingertips when he knelt before her.

Right, Chandra should follow. Stay with him.

No, idiot, stay as far away as possible.

She had to do _something_ -

But avoid attention-

It's rude-

The Yotsuba would _kill_ her in her sleep if she-

"So, you three want to talk with my darling nephew, right?"

"Y-yes…" Yuusuke whimpered. Their flight/freeze instinct (because there was no way they were going to try _fighting_ ) appeared to entertain her. Chandra could only pray they were amusing enough to be left alive.

"And what, exactly, did you want to talk to him about?"

Somehow, Chandra had a feeling that saying "We want to interrogate your 'darling nephew' to see if we nearly got your niece killed for no reason" would not end well. However, as she struggled for something to say, and awkward silence stretched across the room.

Fortunately, Uryu was able to answer.

"We have questions we demand answers to!"

Unfortunately, Chandra wished Uryu had just kept his mouth shut.

"What he _means_ -" Yuusuke cut in, sending Uryu a furious glare. "-Is that we think… we might have made a mistake, but we're not sure…. We thought we could ask Tatsuya for more information about what we think happened so we can know if we were wrong or not."

Maya's expression did not change, but Chandra had a feeling the woman was internally ridiculing them for their pathetic excuse of an explanation. Great, now they were going to die; Chandra closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

"Alright, then," she laughed, apparently entertained enough to give them a chance. "Why don't you follow me?"

"...What?" Chandra squeaked out, certain she had heard wrong.

Maya simply raised an eyebrow, causing the trio to rush after her.

* * *

By the time Maya stepped into the backyard, Tatsuya had already turned toward them, dropping whatever he was doing after sensing her presence. Chandra could see he was panting slightly, but from her spot in the house she was not able to determine anything else.

The committee leaders stood behind a one way window, watching the Yotsuba head inform her nephew about the meeting she had scheduled for him. His eyes immediately darted toward their hiding place, but Maya had assured them he would not be able to identify them from so far away. It gave them time to think of how to confront Tatsuya, without giving him the same advantage.

Chandra could not help but feel like the Queen of Night was being _suspiciously_ generous. Almost as if she was leading them into a trap they could see forming around themselves, but still could not escape.

Uryu was sure she was just stupid.

Yotsuba guards and members alike bowed to their leader as she returned to the house; the trio of children were allowed to stay in the meeting room and watch as the training continued.

"So, what?" Uryu asked scornfully. "Are the crowd of adults just going easy on Tatsuya as they teach him one at a time? I don't see why he gets so many teachers!"

"But that's so unfair!" Chandra whispered.

And, as if to emphasize her point further, a man inched closer to Tatsuya from behind. Regardless of their personal grudges against the boy, the three found themselves flinching away, not willing to watch the ensuing slaughter of their classmate.

The loud **smack** of colliding flesh could be heard even indoors.

Eager to see the after-effects on his classmate, Uryu took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Instantly, he narrowed in on the body on the ground.

"Wait, what?"

Uryu's voice shook Chandra and Yuusuke out of their fear, soon causing all three to watch the fight before them.

Chandra reflexively took a step back in shock.

It was… _amazing_.

The man who had attacked from behind was down, rolling on the floor from a hit to his solar plexus. Two surrounded the youngest, but Tatsuya knocked them out with a bone-shattering kick to the head and brutal knee-break, respectively. In the next second, a man who had at least 200 pounds on Tatsuya attempted to tackle, but the boy just jumped on his shoulders and began choking the man out.

Watching him move was like watching leaves in the wind. There should be no way for the boy to move at such speeds, yet he danced around the comparatively-still adults with ease. Each attempt they made at grabbing him ended with him slipping out at the last second and moving around at impossible angles until they were easy prey. His bullet-like attacks always incapacitated his enemies instantly, yet not one of theirs could land.

Barely five minutes had gone by before Tatsuya finished, standing tall as the lone survivor of the battle Chandra had correctly identified as "unfair." She had just been wrong about which side deserved her pity.

There was a pause for several seconds as Tatsuya caught his breath, the tremble in his body and slight gasps the only evidence the otherwise-unharmed boy had been in a fight. Then the world lit up.

Psions glowed, swarming around the young boy despite his apparent lack of CAD. At Chandra's gasp, Uryu and Yuusuke turned to her in confusion, but she was too enthralled by the show before her to care.

She had never thought of herself as above non-magicians before, but knowing they could not see what she could made the gorgeous light show all the more precious.

The light spread out, covering the sea of people who laid on the ground around him. Then, they woke up.

"Did… did he-" Yuusuke channeled his inner Chandra, trying but failing to find the right words. "Did he just heal them? In an instant?"

"He… couldn't have," Uryu refuted, "It must have been that the adults were faking their injuries for him."

"No." Both boys turned to Chandra in shock, unaccustomed to a straight refusal from the girl. "Neither of you could see the psions, but I can. He did something to undo the damage he had caused. As far as I can tell, he made them just as healthy as they were at the start of the fight."

The adults began to stand up, many of them dripping in sweat. With a casual snap, more magic activated; their previously damp clothes were instantly clean.

It was a simple spell involving heating, but the sheer _speed_ at which Tatsuya was able to cast magic left Chandra completely floored. Despite their lack of knowledge regarding magic, Chandra assumed her two friends were in a similar state of being.

"He used it again," their local Tatsuya-expert, Uryu Hattori, muttered. "That's the same thing he did the time he saved Miyuki from the car. The snap-and-magic-happens-without-your-special-tool thing."

"The CAD," Yuusuke reminded.

"Right, that."

Yuusuke rolled his eyes, but Uryu seemed too distracted to notice. Chandra frowned; there were not many things that could distract Uryu like that. Usually, he would start trading theories with Yuusuke or get super excited as the pieces clicked together in his mind.

The calm, silent distraction was slightly unnerving.

"You know… we tried really, really hard to learn the things we know," Uryu thought aloud. "But Yotsuba just told us to wait here and watch. Tatsuya was hiding his abilities for her, but she's just handing his skills over."

It was at times like this — times when Uryu showed why _he_ was the one to realize how much Tatsuya was hiding — that Chandra found her respect for him fully renewed.

Before she could comment on it, Uryu gave a truly malicious cackle.

"I see! She must have seen our true potential with just a look. This is her way of saying that she supports us and wants us to remove Tatsuya from her family! Of course her affection for him was fake; no one could love that monster! My friends, we have just earned ourselves, a _very_ powerful ally! Just like with the villain's girlfriend in that robot-soldier movie!"

And it was at times like this that Chandra found even the slightest bit of respect she had for him questionable. Sure, she _wanted_ to believe everything he was saying. Last year, when she was first recruited to the organization, she probably would have.

But when Chandra saw his over-exaggerated enthusiasm regarding their new "ally," all she could see was a nearly-identical Uryu saying the same things about Mr. Chitoge. He had been a powerful adult who respected their accomplishments; he had also nearly gotten Miyuki killed.

Then why? Why would the head of the Yotsuba family show them-

"Oh." Chandra whimpered and trembled slightly, causing Yuusuke to turn towards her.

"What's wrong?"  
"I think… I think Tatsuya's aunt is showing him off. Sort of like… look at him, there's nothing you can do against us. She's parading her attack dog around, since there's no point in starting a fight you can't win…. It's a threat. Try anything, and she'll send her strongest weapon after us. Something that could kill us in an instant."

* * *

"Really sister? You're usually so much more subtle," the recently-recovered Yotsuba Miya chided. "It only took half an hour for those children to realize what you planned."

Maya giggled, amused by her sister's evaluation. "You know, those 'children' are the same age as your son, the boy who found you a cure when all the money in the world couldn't buy one. Perhaps the younger generation is just more capable… your son's CAD work certainly seems to support that."

"We can hardly compare normal humans to that defective monster."

"That 'defective monster' is the only reason you can walk around right now," Maya countered, growing slightly protective. While any country on the planet would probably view her relationship with her nephew as abusive, she nonetheless did care about him. He was the only person in the world who could relate to her experiences.

"...Regardless," Miya continued, not seeing any point in arguing, "You didn't even try to hide it."

"A threat is pointless if the people you're threatening don't understand. Now be quiet, the show is about to start."

Both women glanced down at the screen before them, observing the security-camera's footage of the children. The video gave them a clear view of four people: Tatsuya, Uryu, Chandra and Yuusuke. Each displayed varying levels of aggression, but the calm before the storm would not last long.

Glares, anxiety, and faked indifference churned in the room's atmosphere, and — when it could no longer be contained by the bottle known as social awareness — the built pressure would burst out like champagne. Miya could tell her sister having the time of her life waiting for the eventual destruction; just another reason to hate the woman.

On screen, Miya could see which ones the situation was affecting most. Tatsuya hid his emotions perfectly (though the monster did not have anything that could be _called_ emotion), so she was sure he would stay in control. The Chandra girl looked about two seconds away from crying, but was putting in an admirable effort to stay calm. The Yuusuke boy was allowing himself to mellow out through slow breathing; he would be fine. The final boy, however….

Uryu jumped out of his seat and slammed his hand on the table, causing Chandra and Yuusuke to jump. Without waiting for a response, Uryu began.

"We have come to demand your unconditional surrender!" 

Turning to her sister, Miya saw the other woman was just as confused by the situation as she was; apparently, the boy was even less intelligent than she had expected.

A soft, genuine smile crossed her lips as Tatsuya simply raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" her on-screen son asked back. "May I ask why?" 

Finally snapping out of his momentary shock, Yuusuke interjected, shouting "What he means is that we had some questions and we thought since they were related to you and all you could answer them!"

"That's not what I meant!"

"Yes. It. Is." Uryu looked like he was going to continue protesting, but Yuusuke sent him a glare forged in the fiery pits of Tartarus that promised death if he said another word. Sufficiently subdued, Uryu allowed himself to be sat back down as Yuusuke's hand pushed on his shoulder.

While she doubted the kids would notice, Miya could tell the Yuusuke boy's hand was shaking. It seemed he was terrified the wrong word would cause Tatsuya to kill them all.

Granted, it was not an _unfound_ fear; Tatsuya was quite possibly the most dangerous thing in the world, after all. It just seemed a little silly to worry about the tool experiencing emotions. She supposed it was not their fault; the kids just did not know any better.

"We-we wanted to… to ask about a person we know," Chandra pathetically began, allowing the stress to impair her speech.

"...Alright," Tatsuya prompted. "What did you want to ask?"

Miya frowned slightly in apprehension. She might have a complicated relationship with her son, but she was still loyal to the Yotsuba family. And, of course, Maya — the infuriating puppet master and manipulator she was — noticed her investment and started to laugh.

"Are you going to go down there and join in?" she asked, clearly mocking her sister.

"Hardly. If I feel personally invested in any information I might join in, but, for now, I don't see any reason to get involved."

Infuriatingly, her sister giggled at that declaration, obviously doubting the claim.

"If you say so," the Queen of Night mused, ending the conversation.

* * *

Tatsuya's magically-suppressed emotions were useful at times like this; at least it kept him from slamming his head against a wall in frustration.

From what he could tell, there were four separate sides to the current discussion: Chandra, who wanted to reveal enough to help Miyuki, Yuusuke, who did not know who he could trust, Uryu, who seemed to hate Tatsuya on principle, and himself.

"And besides," Uryu screamed at his friends, completely ignoring Tatsuya's presence. "-how can you believe anything he says over Mr. Chitoge? What has _he_ helped us with?!"

"Our goal has been to destroy Tatsuya," Yuusuke pointed out. "How, exactly, did you want him to help with that? I doubt even Mr. Chitoge would be willing to lay down and accept death because his classmates want him to."

Chandra flinched at the phrasing, guilt seeping through the large cracks in her metaphoric mask. While Tatsuya knew they had no training, he was still shocked middle-school kids showed so much emotion. In the political Yotsuba, such weakness would be a death sentence.

"Well we don't have any proof Tatsuya's on our side!" Uryu shouted back. That seemed to be his first solid point, if only because Tatsuya was not, in fact, on their side. He would have thought it would be obvious given how they nearly got his sister killed, but maybe the boy was too self-centered to see that.

"As far as I know," Tatsuya countered, interrupting the argument. "You don't have any proof your Mr. Chitoge wants what's best for you either. You do, however, know that your actions have put both Miyuki and myself in danger as a result of following that man's orders."  
"Well… why does he hate you anyways? If you haven't done anything wrong, then there shouldn't be anyone after you! Is it like what happened with us, and you revealed too much of yourself?"

"Of course not. He is a magician as well, and, though I am above average for my age, I am not the monster you seem to think I am. Chandra might not have enough experience to realize this, but to a combat-trained adult, I'm just a normal kid who happens to know magic," Tatsuya lied. He really hoped Miyuki would be finished and able to join him soon, it was tiring to deal with kids who would not be swayed by hard logic.

"Eh?" Chandra's brows scrunched in confusion. "But then why is he targeting you?'

"...It's not really about me, it has more to do with my family. You see, that man used to be a bodyguard for an affluent family who had a conflict with the Yotsuba. Do you… remember the man who was trying to give you two candy?"

Yuusuke and Uryu nodded, each scowling at the memory. Tatsuya was not sure he would be able to convince Uryu of anything, but Yuusuke seemed like he could be swayed so long as Tatsuya kept the argument logical.

"Those candies he was trying to give you were drugged; he was a child kidnapper. When I found out that he was at the same school as Miyuki, I told my aunt and she sent a man to assassinate the leader."

"The 'same school as Miyuki?'" Yuusuke repeated, his thoughtful expression dawning into suspicion. "You weren't worried about yourself?"

Tatsuya cursed; it was so natural for everyone in his family to not worry about him, that Tatsuya had allowed it to affect his wording. Despite being a rather small tear in his act, looking through it could show the children a world of monsters unlike anything they had seen before.

It would also probably result in their deaths.

"Well, as you saw, I can take care of myself somewhat. I wouldn't be able to do anything against a group, but if my opponent doesn't know I'm a magician I can usually catch them by surprise. Miyuki is better than me at magic, but she doesn't have the same level of combat experience I do. Regardless, when my aunt discovered the potential danger the family posed to us, she reacted by sending an assassin to eliminate the family. Your Mr. Chitoge was a guard who had been defending the family at the time."

"Oh," Yuusuke relaxed, apparently buying into the lie. Tatsuya really, really hoped his sister was almost done; he was not sure how long he would be able to continue buying time.

"But what about-" Uryu cut off, hearing the creak of a door being opened. Miyuki stepped in, clutching a device that resembled an inside-out ipad. Wired jutted out and looped back in, sticking through a glass orb to connect with the small silver ball in the center.

While the design was far from glamorous, Tatsuya hoped the potential applications of the machine would make the time he had spent on it worthwhile.

* * *

The week before the meeting, Tatsuya had received a call from his spy informing him of the interrogation the children were planning. Although it was well within his skill level, Tatsuya still found himself nervous with anticipation over how the meeting would progress. The outcome of the meeting would determine whether the Yotsuba would allow Miyuki's friends to continue living. Should their personalities make cooperation more effort than it was worth, their fates would be sealed.

For Miyuki's sake, Tatsuya hoped it would not come to that.

"Onii-sama?"

Miyuki had noticed her brother's attention drifting over the past hour. Even the shopping trip she had proposed to him did not seem to be enough to take his mind off whatever was bothering him.

"Sorry Miyuki, did you say something?"

"What's bothering you?" Her brother's vibrant, ocean-blue eyes widened as he realized his lapse in attention was noticeable even to MIyuki. His mouth opened to apologize — an unsavory habit left over from the days where he only existed as the Yotsuba's weapon — but Miyuki's glare vaporized the words. For a moment, Tatsuya remained silent as he contemplated how much to say.

Would telling her about the people who nearly got her kidnapped distress her?

Would keeping the truth from her be even worse?

What finally allowed him to come to a decision ended up being the determined eyes glaring back at him; their frosty intensity was matched only by the most powerful of arctic winds.

This was Miyuki, the girl who was the most likely candidate for the position of Yotsuba heir. He knew her, and knew her elegance did not counteract the destruction she was capable of when pushed. Hiding the truth from her would be both an insult and disservice to the girl he was tasked with protecting.

She deserved the truth.

"The spy I planted in the Hattori household investigation called me yesterday with a concerning update. Our classmates have finally come to the conclusion that they only have one side of the story, and wanted to arrange a meeting with me to hear my side."

"Do you think you can convince them that Mr. Chitoge has lied about us?"

"I have no reason to believe he _has_ lied to them. They are entitled to their own opinions, but if they continue to try working against us it will only end up bad for them. I want to dissuade them from their current standpoint, but that will require-"

"But they _are_ wrong!" Miyuki shouted, momentarily drawing the attention of nearby shoppers (until a quick glare from Tatsuya made them look away).

"About what?"

"They think you're a monster!"

"Which is, debatably, true."

He had been wrong; the resolve reflected in Miyuki's eyes before had been a snowflake compared to the storm which now raged inside of her.

"No. They think you're not human because of your power, but they're wrong! You love, and care, and get angry and protective-"

"Regardless," Tatsuya interjected, deciding further disagreement would be futile. "We have very few ways of getting them to see that. For one, I only feel like that towards you."

"But-"

"That also doesn't help us convince them that the man leading them is wrong. What we need to do is show them they're being manipulated and/or have gone too far."

"Then I can tell them about what I heard on the ship!"  
Possible, but improbable; it was unlikely they would believe her if they really had as much trust in the man as they seemed to.

"The only proof we have is your word. I believe you, but I doubt they would."

For a moment, Miyuki clenched her fists; her mind raced through different possibilities. She needed a way to show them what she saw, but there was no magic or tool capable of displaying memories like that. She supposed it would not be _impossible_ — it was close to existing magic, so she knew it could probably be created — but no one could make a machine like that in the few days that had left! Even the world's greatest scientific minds could not-

 _"Guess I just feel like he could do anything if he really put his mind to it…"_

Uryu had told her that once, indirectly leading to the end of her mother's coma. Despite not prolonging the woman's life, her brother had created a spell which did the impossible.

"...Onii-sama…" Miyuki hesitated, wondering if she was asking too much.

"Yes?"

"Do you… do you think it would be possible for you to create something that would let them see my memories? If we could do that, then maybe we could convince them what I'm saying is true! I mean, as far as they know I shouldn't know his real voice; they're the only ones who met him in person."

Tatsuya took on a thoughtful expression as he pondered her suggestion. It would be difficult, but was certainly more likely to convince them than anything he had come up with.

"I'll give it a shot," he responded.

"Thank you, Onii-sama!"

* * *

Despite not wanting to draw attention to himself, Yuusuke gasped when the glass at the center of the odd contraption lit up. Luckily, Uryu and Chandra did too, and Tatsuya gave no indication that he had heard (though, given how many of their previous attempts went, Yuusuke was sure he had).

The light emitting from the ball shifted, becoming a hologram which encompassed the entire room; the image was perfected once Tatsuya turned off the room's ceiling light.

It was dark. Dark-haired girls about their age surrounded them, all cowering in fear of the adults circling the room. There was no sensory data to go with it, but Yuusuke was sure the room would have been freezing if there was.

"They're here. What do you want with them, sir?"

The voice was staticky and hard to make out, but Yuusuke could understand the words nonetheless. While he did not recognize the voice, he had a feeling the room was related to the source of Chandra's misgivings: Miyuki's attempted kidnapping.

Someone answered, trying to get the first voice to wait a little longer. Yuusuke was not sure why the argument between the two men was important, but, as the second voice spoke again, Yuusuke realized it sounded familiar. If he could just remember where he had heard it-

Oh. _Oh_. It was Mr. Chitoge.

"...Yes, everyone knows 'of' them, but few actually know _about_ them." Mr. Chitoge growled, sounding arrogant and patronizing in a way that he had never seemed before. Had he just been hiding his true personality from them the entire time?

Yuusuke hoped the man he had come to consider a mentor was just putting up a front; maybe the first speaker was a mercenary who only listened to over-confident body language.

"Tell me," Mr. Chitoge continued. "Did you know the 'Queen of Night' has a young, black haired niece who functions as one of her heirs?"

"No," Chandra whispered, staring wide-eyed at the video in horrified realization.

Finally, Mr. Chitoge chuckled, explaining, ",,,the Yotsuba's heaviest hitters will not attack a boat their heir is on. We can get off Japan, and blackmail once we're in a safe location."

The voice went on to explain that he had found some of the heir's friends, allowing him to manipulate events so that the heir came to the boat alone. While Yuusuke did not understand the limits of magic, and therefore had no proof it was not fake, this new revelation made just a little too much sense. The previously scribbled story was changing so that it clearly spelled out the truth: they had been used to capture their classmate.

If everything in the video was true…

They deserved the title of 'monster' far more than Tatsuya!

Mr. Chitoge had told them everything they wanted to hear; if the kidnapping succeeded, would he could merely claim ignorance and act sympathetic towards the "unfortunate situation." They would have never been able to prove his involvement.

"I don't believe it," Uryu declared with a sharp glare. "Mr. Chitoge would never do something like that!"

For a moment Yuusuke thought Chandra would agree with him, but she just looked sullen.

"It… would explain some things that had confused me," she confessed.

"Huh? We got this new information from Tatsuya! It can't be trusted." It was technically from Miyuki, but Yuusuke did not think pointing that out would go over well.

Instead, he placed a hand on Uryu's shoulder to keep him from jumping out of his seat.

"Well, we should at least consider it. Maybe they got some things wrong, but part of it could still be true-"

"No! They have magic, and magic is evil! They could have used it to falsify the information, and now they're trying to manipulate us too! We can't trust people like them, we can only trust Mr. Chitoge's allies!"

Chandra flinched at magic being called evil, even if the comment was not aimed at her. Yuusuke wanted to sigh; why did Uryu always switch between being the world's most naive, trusting idiot and the world's most stubborn, hard-headed fool?

"Uryu, please just listen," Miyuki pleaded, looking every bit the Ojou-sama they now knew she was.

"Anyways," Uryu brushed off Yuusuke's hand and stood. "I don't believe you. This was a waste of time, and monsters like you should know better than to try and sway the loyalty of someone like me!"

Tatsuya stood up as well, trying to stop Uryu from leaving but only increasing hostilities.

" _What_?! Are you going to kill me?"

"I- _no_ ," Tatsuya blinked, slightly taken aback. "But please just listen-"

"I"m not staying here a second longer!" Uryu shouted as he started walking towards the door.

Just before he reached the door, however, it swung open.

A gorgeous woman who looked like a combination of Miyuki and the Queen of Night stepped in, her eyes instantly narrowing in on Tatsuya.

"Shujin-sama," Tatsuya greeted as he executed a perfect bow. "Mistress," he had called her.

"Okaa-sama!" Miyuki called out in surprise at the same time.

Yuusuke turned to the woman and stared, trying to figure out who she was.

Both Shibas were speaking to their mom, but used completely alien terms.

Both were greeting her, but used distinct body language.

Both were her children, but she glanced at Tatsuya with an empty, cold _hate_.

So was she their mom or superior? Then again, given what little information Miyuki had revealed about the family, they knew Tatsuya was treated differently than her. Could she be their mom, but little more than a master to Tatsuya? Nothing else seemed to make sense, but…

What was wrong with this family?

* * *

"Well," Yotsuba Maya muttered as she watched her sister enter the room. "This has gotten much more interesting."

* * *

"If you refuse to listen, we will allow you to leave" Miya offered, her voice a smooth mix between her sister's elegance and daughter's natural beauty. "However, you will be considered an enemy of the Yotsuba from that point forward. Only my daughter's affection for her acquaintances has kept you alive thus far. Are you prepared for the consequences of your next action?"

The boy hesitated for a moment, but then glared, puffing his chest in bravado.

"I don't care! I could never work with a creature like _him_! I'd rather die."

If Tatsuya was affected by the claim, he did not show it.

' _As expected of an emotionless weapon_ ,' Miya thought. As much as she wanted to commend Uryu for seeing through "it's" human disguise, that would only upset Miyuki,and earn her sister's rage.

"Uryu-" Miyuki tried again, but the boy simply turned and ran out the door, ignoring her threat.

Perfect.

The weapon glared at her, obviously aware of what she had done. Watching the discussion had made one thing clear: Uryu Hattori would just get in Miyuki's way. Miya could understand that her daughter would hesitate to kill her classmate — only a monster like her "son" was capable of that — but the boy would only drag her down. Best to simply nip the problem at the bud.

And, with Miyuki having seen the boy make his choice, she would not order her guard dog to bring him back; her plan had worked beautifully.

The only question left was what to do with the other two. While not as obnoxious as the first boy, the other two children were far from Yotsuba material. Magician and honor student they may be, but only the world's best had a right to associate with her daughter.

"Um, h-hello," the girl squeaked, but quickly calmed down. "I'm Chandra… Miyuki and Tatsuya's classmate."

"Oh, and I'm Yuusuke….. It's a pleasure?"

Miya stared down with disdain, causing the children to break out into a cold sweat. They knew Miyuki and Tatsuya would not kill them, but with their mom it was… debatable, to say the least.

"...Shujin-sama," Tatsuya stood, gathering the room's attention toward himself. "Perhaps you would like to watch the rest of the discussion. Can I pull up a chair for you?"

'We can handle this,' his words implied. 'Please, just watch and leave the rest to me.'

Normally, Miya would have him punished for his impertinence. Normally, she would humiliate him in kind. Normally, she would make him pay for his disrespect, especially in front of such unifilliated observers.

Normally.

"...I see," she said instead, surprising even herself. "That sounds agreeable."

As soon as his half-second of shock resolved itself, Tatsuya pulled up a chair for her, using all the calm etiquette instilled in him by the family.

Why had she allowed that? Not only was it rare for her to speak without thinking ahead, but that was the last thing she would have expected her intuitive answer to be. Why would she allow such disrespect? It was not like he-

' _Saved your life or anything_?' a traitorous part of her mind asked. While the disease was still taking her life, she would be able to move and think and _live_ thanks to the boy's magic.

She could never see him as her son — her accursed magic prevented that — but this? Perhaps… viewing him as a monster was all her. Maybe she was wrong….

Preposterous. The boy was the spawn of a political marriage and experiments. With an upbringing like that, he could _never_ become anything more than a weapon.

It was a simple fact: Tatsuya Shiba was not human.


	8. Chapter 8

Although he was proud for being able to resist the interrogation so far, the agent knew his opponents would soon attempt other methods of extracting information. It seemed they were first going to try appealing to his sensibilities with a nostalgic reference to his childhood: the infamous "older sister" method.

"Uryu, the policemen are trying to help you, but you're not really answering their questions. I know you're a smart kid, so I'm sure you realize what they want you to tell them. Is there some reason you can't answer?"

It appeared they were trying to see if he had been blackmailed. No matter, he was _totally_ loyal to the organization and its fight against monsters. They would never be able to seduce him away from his noble mission.

"I don't need their help!" he whined and pouted, then quickly stopped and resumed a proper expression for an agent of his caliber.

"...Mmhm."

"I don't see what their problem is! I'm doing fine!"

"Mmhm."

"It's not _my_ fault they're too stupid to see the truth!"

"Mmhm."

"Why should I? I don't _want_ to tell them anything about Tatsuya, and you can't make me! What, if you fail, are they going to move onto the next phase of the interrogation and beat me until they get their answers?"

Mion's eyes widened in shock, and Uryu smirked in victory at his correct deduction. At least, until his sister relaxed and propped her head up with her arm as her elbow kept her upright. She began rubbing her temples and sighing in frustrated exhaustion.

"No, Uryu. This is a police station, not a Mafia family. They won't torture you for information — especially when you're the victim. But, if they don't catch the criminal, a lot of kids like Tatsuya might get hurt. Do you really want to learn that happened because you didn't answer them?"

"If the kids are like Tatsuya, then they deserve everything coming to them!"

" _Uryu_!"

"What, you still think I've been tricked? I know exactly what I'm doing, and I know what our goals are. I'm going to destroy the evil magicians and become a hero! Just watch, once we succeed-"

"Uryu, _stop_!"

"No! Mr. Chitoge saw what I was capable of and respects me as an equal partner!" Uryu growled, feeling his fists clench under the table in rage. "It's not _my_ fault we're the only ones who've realized that magicians are the greatest monsters the world has ever seen. I'm just more capable than everyone else!"

"Uryu, you're just a _kid_!"

Uryu stood up, slamming his hands on the table and causing his sister to jump in her seat. "Mr. Chitoge wouldn't say I'm a kid!"

In the back of his mind, he realized that did not really count as a refute, but Uryu was too overwhelmed by anger to think of anything else to say to her. So, instead, he dramatically spun on his heel and stomped towards the door.

He needed to talk to Mr. Chitoge.

* * *

"Chitoge!" his — for lack of a better term — secretary called out to him, interrupting the meeting. "The Hattori kid is calling you, do you want me to put him through?"

Hiding his annoyance, Chitoge turned to the woman and nodded, reaching out his hand to take the phone he had used to connect to the kids with. With everything that had happened involving the police, Uryu was probably not in a position to help him work against the Yotsuba. Unfortunately, with the investigations going on, it was imperative that the kid stayed loyal to him.

"Hello, Uryu. Is everything alright?"

' _And please, if this was just another one of your "theories," don't take too long_.' he mentally added.

"My sister is the worst!" Uryu screamed at him. If he were not a thousand miles away, Chitoge would probably have been tried for attempted murder of a minor. Really? Even theories were at least _related_ to their mission. Now he was supposed to be the kid's _therapist_?

Breathe; calm down; deal with it.

"Did something happen?" he finally asked.

"Yeah! She keeps interrogating me and saying I was tricked by you, and how I'm just a kid so there's no way you would have picked me for anything!"

"Well you don't have to worry about that.. If kids were harmless, then we wouldn't have to worry about Tatsuya Shiba. I think we both know _that's_ not true."

And, at very least, he could swear _that_ was the truth. _Uryu_ might be just like any other "normal" kid — if a little more gullible than most — but Chitoge would never again let Tatsuya's age color his assessment. Not after what he had seen the night Tatsuya obliterated the wealthiest family in the city.

"Right, so I've decided!" Uryu declared resolutely. "I'm going to run away and move in with you!"  
"...I beg your pardon?"

"Well may 'family' obviously doesn't appreciate me the way _you_ do. I think I could do much more for the cause if I was at your base full-time. Besides, anything would be better than spending all day at a police station! Just send someone to smuggle me out and take me to your home!"

And lead the Yotsuba right to his doorstep? He had no idea how many there were, but Chitoge had no doubt the Yotsuba left some agents there to get information from Uryu. If he brought in the kid, it would be a horrifying repeat of his previous colleagues' massacre. Hundreds enter, and only one person leaves; everyone else turned to dust in his wake.

"Mr. Chitoge?"

"Oh, yes Uryu, of course. I'm afraid I'm a bit too far away right now to bring you to where I am, but I can send someone to free you from there. Would that be okay?"

"That'd be great! It's been sooooo boring recently. I want to do more to help!"  
"Boring," Chitoge repeated in a mumbled whisper. He would be entertaining a kid. It was lovely to know his years of training and combat experience culminated in being a babysitter.

"Yeah! It'll be so much fun. And we'll fight against the magicians!" That sounded…

"Great!" Chitoge announced with enthusiasm faker than lab-baby-Miyuki's angelic face. He would honestly rather cut out his own heart, but he was running out of options; if the boy revealed the message Chitoge sent to the Yotsuba, the magicians would probably be able to track it back to him.

A stupid mistake he continued to pay for.

"Is there anything I should do?"

"No, no. I'll send someone to pick you up and bring you to a safehouse I've been keeping. From there, we can video-call each other until I'm sure you weren't followed and can bring you to the main base. Sound good?"

"Okay then!" Uryu beamed. "See you soon!"

* * *

"No," Suzaku gowled.

"What? Please! It's just for a little while."

"No."

"Eh? But-"

" _No_."

When he played his role as a police officer, he had thought the baby-sitting part of it would be over once he brought the kids to the Yotsuba compound. But, instead of being sent away or killed, Miyuki's influence had caused Yotsuba Maya to allow the kids to stay in the area.

But that was fine. People were sent to watch them, but they were not Suzaku's responsibility anymore. His "scary-cop" days had come to a close; they were someone else's problem now.

So why, exactly, were they _still_ bothering him?

"Please! We just want to talk to Miyuki," Yuusuke explained, growing impatient. "It'll only take a few minutes! We can't find the guy who's supposed to watch us, and last time we put ourselves in danger to talk to him he threatened us. You helped us before, so you can help us now, right? Please!"

"No."

Suzaku was half-tempted to simply use bloodlust to silence the kids, but Miyuki had specifically ordered them not to do that, and Maya left her in charge. He would not trade the family for the world, but sometimes he wished their head would stop making decisions based on minor whims.

"But we can help!" Yuusuke explained desperately, causing Chandra to nod in the background. "We can participate and help the Yotsuba family deal with Mr. Chitoge!"

Somehow, someway, Suzaku doubted that. Miyuki's friends or not, they were children. A fact that had not changed in the last _forty-two times_ they had asked Suzaku if they could help.

He really needed a vacation.

"You're here because Miyuki requested for us to not simply wipe your memories and send you home." Or kill them, but they did not need to know that. "We aren't asking you to do anything to help us, nor do you have the power to do so. It's fine, just treat this like an enforced vacation."

Yuusuke shook his head, looking more desperate by the second. "Please, we can help!"  
What was he trying to do? Surely, by this point, he would have realized his contribution or lack-thereof would make no difference in the end result. Was he really so deluded that he thought he had something unique or special to offer the Yotsuba?

"We don't need you."

Suzaku glanced down, his attention caught by the boy's trembling hands.

Oh. _Oh_. He was terrified of _not_ having something special, and then being killed when Miyuki's back was turned. It was a valid concern, though Suzaku was not sure why Yuusuke thought making a nuisance of himself was a good solution. If he had to guess, Yuusuke probably wanted to make himself a vital part of the plan to make the Yotsuba hold off on killing them prematurely.

"Just let us talk to Uryu!" Chandra interjected. "I'm sure we'll be able to make him change his mind!"

And the girl wanted to join so that she could keep the Yotsuba from killing her friend. As cute as that was, it was not improving their chances of conceiving Suzaku to let them see Miyuki.

Suzaku sighed as a breeze brushed passed them, causing the bushes in the zen garden to sway. The kids had put a lot of work into approaching him with their arguments, and obviously were dead-set on accomplishing what they wanted. It was his job to watch them anyway, so the least he could do was answer their question with complete honesty. He took a deep breath in, preparing himself for what he was going to say.

"No."

The kids gaped in silence behind him as he turned around and walked to the shade of a tree.

* * *

Nimble as an elephant, Yuusuke collapsed onto the zen garden's wooden bench and growled — he was _not_ pouting — and waited for Chandra to sit next to him. He leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee and his chin on his hand, furiously glaring at the supposed-police-officer-but-actually-assassin who had completely ignored their valid arguments and refused to let them see their friend. They needed a new plan.

Slowly, Yuusuke began to swing his legs back and forth, kicking the sand beneath his feet and messing up its intricate pattern. It was petty, but nonetheless satisfying to mess with Yotsuba property; their voices might fall on deaf ears, but they had enough power to change the land. To his left, he noticed Chandra absentmindedly tracing the grooves of the bench with her hand, equally lost in thought.

This was really out of their comfort zone. Normally Uryu was the one who inspired others among the three of them. Yuusuke would just figure out how to make his crazy plans work and Chandra would gather information for both of them. It disrupted their holy trinity to lose their leader.

Which was why they had to get him back (hopefully without being killed for trying). If they could just make themselves valuable to the Yotsuba, they would not have to fear being killed over nothing — which, despite Miyuki's assurances, could still happen at any moment — and might be able to work out a plan to get Uryu back. _Alive_.

Yuusuke and Chandra were pretty sure that, if left alone, the Yotsuba would bring back a dead or highly traumatized boy, rather than the Uryu they had gotten to know during their committee days.

But none of that could start unless Yuusuke talked to Miyuki and got them invaluable positions in the operation. Time was running out; they needed to move fast. But _of course_ scary-cop — comparatively-minor boss, though he may be — would not be swayed by sympathy.

All they needed to do was _talk_ to her. Her room was right in front of them. If she opened her window, they would be able to shout at each other, and have the conversation from the garden. But shouting "Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair!" would probably just result in Suzaku taking them farther away. Unless they could….

Oh, _there_ was an idea.

"Chandra," Yuusuke hissed, keeping one eye on Suzaku at all times despite Chandra sitting on his opposite side.

"Hm?" she mumbled back, depressed at their lack of progress.

Yuuske looked back and forth once, checking to see if there were any Yotsuba members (other than scary-cop, resting on a tree branch) in sight. Not sure what was going on, Chandra looked around as well, suddenly wary.

There was no one else around.

Perfect.

"Do you see those vines over there?"

Chandra nodded.

"They lead up to Miyuki's room, don't they? I bet we could knock on her window and climb in once she opens it up. This could be our only chance to talk to her."

Chandra's eyes lit up (though Yuusuke did not know if it was because she could help Uryu or talk to Miyuki), and she nodded enthusiastically. Then, realizing something, deflated.

"Er-but… I can't really… I don't like heights."  
"Oh," Yuusuke muttered eloquently, once again wishing Uryu was there. He always knew what to say to rally people for the sake of a vague, metaphysical cause.

Then again, everyone he _had_ was now gone, so maybe that was not as strong of a strategy as Yuusuke remembered.

"Oh, but," Chandra glanced over at scary-cop Suzaku. "I could watch and warn you if Suzaku looks like he's going to wake up. Or if our… 'watcher' seems to be coming."

"Why don't you just distract scary-cop?" Yuusuke suggested, growing excited in a way he had not felt since leaving Uryu. "Just talk to him or something, and he won't even notice me!"

"Perfect!" Chandra agreed. "Or I could put myself in danger! I bet the other watcher-guy would also forget you."

Although he was slightly concerned about her eagerness to jump into mortal peril, Yuusuke nodded. No important plan was without its risks.

Both of them looked around once again to see if anyone else was watching, but found no one in sight. The Yotsuba were underestimating them.

Yuusuke took a deep breath and walked toward the vines. Unlike Uryu, he was not one of the most physically capable kids of the decade, but he was athletic enough to do this. Maybe. Hopefully?

Wrapping his hand around one of the vines, he gave the emerald net an experimental tug, testing its sturdiness. It did not snap, but Yuusuke still had no idea if it would be able to support his weight.

" _Only one way to find out_!" his inner-Uryu shouted encouragingly at him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yuusuke saw Chandra babbling to scary-zop Suzaku and felt his determination solidify. It was now or never.

Feeling vaguely like a child on a playground (rather than the mature-almost-adult he _obviously_ was) Yuusuke began shimmying up the wall, climbing toward the person who would ensure their safety. Grab a vine; hook a leg; balance weight; stay away from thin ones; pull up!

He was only two feet from the window now, and preemptive exhilaration cascaded over his body. They were almost safe; he just had to get through there and-

 _ **SNAP**_

Suddenly, he was mid-air, a feeling of weightlessness pulling his stomach in two separate directions. The vine had ripped, and sent him on an unplanned skydive towards the ground.

It took a second for him to register the terrified scream as his own.

" _Aaaah_!"

He reached out — frantically searching — trying to grab a vine or twig or brick or _anything_. His hands could only snatch thin air as his body sped toward the ground-

"There we go," Suzaku mumbled. Yuusuke blinked his eyes open, astounded he was still alive, and soon realized he had been caught by the scary cop.

Who apparently had not been as distracted by Chandra as they had expected him to be.

"Um… thanks?" Yuusuke gave a too-wide smile and hoped Suzaku would just write it off as a stupid challenge a child had given himself. After all, the man already had a low opinion of him, and adults did not usually think children had brains capable of planning something as detailed as this.

Their unknown watcher set an apologetic Chandra down next to him, and — with one last glare — disappeared again.

"Just so you know," Suzaku smirked as he set Yuusuke down, "Miyuki's not in her room. She's out on a shopping trip with her brother; you wouldn't have been able to talk to her anyways."

Yuusuke's body heated up in embarrassment and Chandra suddenly found the floor absolutely _fascinating_. Yuusuke had forgotten; Suzaku was not a random adult, he was trained and taught by the most dangerous family on earth. They should have realized it would not be so easy.

"But… but if you just let us talk to her-"

Suzaku glared, cutting off Chandra's argument. Both children took a step back, suddenly unsure if the situation was about to turn violent. They had both seen what Tatsuya did to the highschool martial artists Uryu had sent after him; Suzaku could kill them in an instant.

But the man just sighed and relaxed, seeing no point in getting violent with the ones he was supposed to be protecting. If they got hurt (and doubly if _Suzaku_ was the one to hurt them), then Miyuki would be mad at him, so then Tatsuya would be mad at him, so he would inevitably experience the terrifying event all Yotsuba soldiers recently learned to fear: staring down a furious demon known as Tatsuya Shiba.

Maya would probably just ask for refreshments while she enjoyed the show.

After the incident which involved Miyuki encouraging Tatsuya to fight seriously against the other Yotsuba children, she received some disapproving looks from adults who were annoyed she had chosen her theoretically "useless" brother over their children. The few who did more than gaze, however, witnessed a monster not even _they_ were willing to go up against.

So, yeah. Suzaku would rather avoid that.

"Look, this might be shocking to you, but those two really don't have time to waste having tea parties with you. Maya-sama wants them to try taking this challenge on, and mostly independently at that. Miya-sama agreed, so they're running the entire operation."

"But you… you said they were shopping!"

"Yes. For _CADs_. Tatsuya is comparing the CADs he's developed to military and civilian models before making some last minute adjustments. I'm sure you're bored, but this isn't-"

"It's not because we're _bored_ ," Yuusuke growled, offended by the very suggestion. "It's just… like you said, our problems aren't important to you. We just want to become more important and help out."

"And make sure nothing happens to Uryu!" Chandra tacked on, causing Yuusuke to glower with an expression clearly conveying shut-up- you're-going-to-ruin-this at her.

Suzaku looked back and forth between the two children, mentally reviewing their explanations and underlying motivations. He could not deny that they had spirit; climbing up a wall with thin vines might not have been the best plan, but they were doing enough to be minor annoyances. And Chandra nearly bashing her head against a wall to get his attention would not be tolerated by Miyuki.

Maybe he should just lock them in a room?

No, that would also make Miyuki mad, running the risk of creating a noticeably-annoyed Tatsuya Shiba. Best to avoid that at all costs.

"So, please? I promise, we'll prove ourselves useful," Yuusuke begged. "Just let us talk to Miyuki!"

Really, what choice did he have? The kids were staring up at him with wide, hopeful, koala-like eyes, and he could not stall for much longer. He could either maintain the current status quo, or he could do what was probably the right thing and help out the kids who had been caught up in Yotsuba business by complete and utter chance. The right answer was obvious.

"No."

* * *

Suzaku had never been so glad to be given a job. He was trained in murder and assassination, babysitting was a little bit outside of his comfort zone.

(Though maybe that was not fair. Considering what strategies the kids had attempted, it might be more accurate to call it "animal herding" than "babysitting.")

And, worst of all, Suzaku was too terrified of Tatsuya to give up and simply knock the kids unconscious. He did not know why their Ojou-sama liked them, but Tatusya, her… bodyguard — because after the miracle he performed by helping Miya, "monster" and "guard dog" just did not seem appropriate — was too dangerous to risk upsetting.

But now he had work! They were no longer his problem.

Suzaku felt a little sorry for the poor soul who he left as their watcher, but not badly enough to do something about it. In the end, he was only a little itsy bitsy teeny tiny bit more involved with the kids than the other servants of the Yotsuba family; they were not his problem.

"Ready Chandra?" he heard Yuusuke yell from behind the building.

"Are-are you sure this is safe?" she yelled back from slightly farther away.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"I… guess not."

Really, it was not any of his business. If the kids got hurt on someone else's watch, Tatsuya would have no reason to be angry at him. Besides, knowing the guy left in charge, the kids had probably been ignored except when they put themselves in danger.. The only downside was that Miyuki (and therefore Tatsuya) would probably be upset.

"Okay, jump off on my count, got it?"

"Got it!"

It truly, honestly was not his problem.

"Okay, three… two… ONE!"

Chandra's scream was heard throughout the house, but then stopped abruptly. It took Suzaku a moment to realize she stopped because she had been caught.

By _him_.

Without thinking, Suzaku had moved to catch the mid-air girl, using both speed magic and cushioning magic to avoid her would-be fate as a pancake on the side of the building. He looked around observing the intricate mix between a zipline and a rope swing set up to allow Chandra to jump off a nearby roof and crash into Miyuki's window.

He glared at the guard holding Yuusuke. The guard who was _supposed_ to be stopping things like this. Said guard just averted his eyes and shrugged, indirectly confessing to having allowed the plan to continue.

"Fine!" Suzaku shouted, surprising even himself. "Fine. If you really want to see her, I'll arrange a meeting. Tatsuya might get angry, but that won't even come close to how angry he'll be if you keep doing things like this. Just… give me a solid minute of silence. _Please_."

Feeling like scolded children — which they were _not_ , by the way — Yuusuke and Chandra nodded and went to sit down by the bench, mentally preparing for the coming talk with their classmates.

* * *

Suzaku almost could not believe he had let it happen. Sure, any choice which avoided Tatsuya's genuine anger was a good one, but wasting the boy's time grated on him.

Tatsuya was simultaneously working on tracking down Chitoge, making a new Silver Taurus invention, and being Miyuki's guardian; even if the kids were trying to help, all they would succeed at was bothering Tatsuya.

And yes, it was normal for the Yotsuba to send their powerful monster to deal with things they did not want to, but that "normal" had been before Tatsuya helped Miya-sama; before Tatsuya had been put in charge of a project; before Suzaku had really gotten to know him.

(In a back corner of his subconscious, Suaku noticed the reason he was angry was not, in fact, because of their Ojou-sama, but because of monster guarding her. Every time that thought reached the surface of his mind, Suzaku shoved it back down easily; he did not want to consider the implications of that feeling.)

"If you really had this under control, Uryu would be back by now!" Chandra screamed.

"And we know all sorts of things. If you let us help you, we might be willing to tell you them, but I won't until we're irreplaceable members of the operation!"

Miyuki was fruitlessly trying to placate her classmates, while Tatsuya was watching from the side with his usual unreadable expression.

"What, specifically, _is_ your offer?" Tatsuya eventually asked, though it was pretty obvious Yuusuke and Chandra had different goals. They flinched slightly at the sudden attention — months of viewing someone as an irredeemable monster tended to leave you jumpy around them — but answered with conviction.

"Our connections to both Mr. Chitoge and Uryu make us vital to your success. We think we can help-"

"Exactly!" Chandra interrupted, overexcited in a way Tatsuya had never seen from her before. "We only want to help save Uryu, so-"

She cut off and squeaked when Yuusuke stomped on her foot, his expression never changing.

"We're _vital_ to your success. We want to help the Yotsuba family."

"And help Uryu!" Chandra tacked on, either not understanding what Yuusuke was trying to do or caring more about ensuring her (Boyfriend's? Leader's? Friend's?) classmate's safety than her own.

Yuusuke started glaring at Chandra with the fiery fury of an active volcano, but she continued to look directly at Miyuki and try appealing with her friendship to the unnamed heir.

Suzaku wondered if he should take Miyuki out of the conversation for being biased, but knew she was far more emotionally removed from the situation than she let on. Unlike Tatsuya, however, no one ever noticed her true feelings; they would never guess the girl in front of them was more than capable of single-handedly eliminating a squad of trained attackers if she felt like it.

In some ways, she could be considered even scarier than Tatsuya. After all, he might be a weapon, but she had his activation switch and targeting device.

"Would we have positions for them?" Miyuki asked, glancing at Suzaku. He probably only knew half as much about that as Tatsuya did, but supposed Miyuki might want to avoid bringing up the mission's main strategist to the kids.

"Attack-wise, nothing that Yotsuba soldiers wouldn't be better at, but maybe in the information department. It depends on whether you think they're able to keep secrets as well."

Although he kept his voice at almost Tatsuya levels of emotionless, he knew his probably-future clan head would be able to pick up on his objection regarding the children's involvement.

Miyuki hummed in consideration, for the first time observing her friends with nothing but the cold logic she had been trained to wield from birth.

"Sorry, but could you wait outside?" Miyuki asked her friends with an irresistible smile. "I see your points, so I think I should go talk to my aunt about your proposal."

The two looked at each other, ecstatic at their victory, and Suzaku very carefully kept an unchanging expression. He had never been great at infiltration missions, but he knew how to hold in a laugh.

As soon as the children left the room, he turned to the Yotsuba heiress with a raised eyebrow, reminding her, "Maya-dono said you could have free rein in the Chitoge situation."

Miyuki giggled and nodded, but her eyes were arctic cold.

"Yes, but they have a favorable impression of me. For now it's better to keep them like that, so I'll use someone they dislike as an excuse for whatever decision I come up with."

And this? Right here? _This_ was what gave Suzaku hope for the future. The Queen of Night would be a nearly impossible person to follow, but if anyone could, it would be Miyuki Shiba.

"Does that mean you need more time to come up with an answer?" Tatsuya asked his sister. If she wanted him to, he could find something to distract the children (never mind that they were technically the same age) with and give her enough time to decide.

Miyuki shook her head. "We can't leave them waiting too long. It would be better to just decide. Out of curiosity, what do the two of you think?"

Suzaku blinked at Miyuki and then looked around, checking for anyone else. As a Yotsuba officer, he was pretty confident in his ability to detect the presence of people, but he knew better than to be overconfident.

There was no one else there.

"Um…" Suzaku awkwardly coughed, getting Miyuki's attention. "Ojou-sama… _whose_ opinions are you looking for?"

"Yours and Tatsuya's, of course," she responded as if they were something other than just her bodyguards. Even Tatsuya looked uncharacteristically stunned by the question. Suzaku supposed it was probably rare for anyone to ask for a child's — or, as he was usually referred to, "that fucking monster"'s — opinion.

"Er… but-"

Seeing their continued hesitation, Miyuki sighed and elaborated "I know this is unorthodox, but I'm still getting used to leading. Suzaku, you've been with the kids the longest of any of the Yotsuba adults, and my brother trusts your reports. And Tatsuya, of course I want to hear what you think about it. There's no one I trust more than you."

Tatsuya blushed under the praise, and Suzaku continued blinking, flabbergasted. Factual mission reports were one thing, but asking for an opinion?

Perhaps the Shiba siblings would bring more changes to the Yotsuba than anyone could predict.

"Understood. Then, personally, I don't think it's worth it," Suzaku confessed. "They have no training, and the only reason they were involved at all is their personal connection to you. The final decision is yours, of course, but it just seems illogical to trust kids for things they shouldn't have been involved in to begin with."

"I see. And Tatsuya?"

"Hm…. I think the biggest problem we have with Mr. Chitoge is that — unlike with most operations — he has more information on us than we have on him. It's not especially concerning, but I also worry we might be playing into his hand reacting the way we are. Suzaku is right: it _is_ illogical to trust them. But using them is also the last thing he would expect from us. The only question is whether they're easier to manipulate when they trust us, or when they hate us."

A short silence passed as Miyuki considered all the points that were made, taking into account her own feelings towards her classmates. She opened her eyes.

"We'll let them help."

* * *

"...Do you have any objections, Ma… oba-yue?" Tatsuya asked, faltering and remembering to change the term when his aunt raised an eyebrow, promising uncontested embarrassment if he forgot.

Just to be on the safe side, Miyuki wanted to check in with their aunt before making any big decisions, but Tatsuya prefered minimizing contact between the two as much as possible.

To Maya's left, her recently-recovered sister (not Tatsuya's mother, not really) Miya stood, watching in consideration. With Tatsuya's stabilizing technique, Miya no longer had to worry about the side-effects of using magic. The disease would take her life in a few months regardless, but using magic would not speed it up, allowing her to rejoin events as an active participant. Tatsuya could only hope the offer he made would not be shot down by Miyuki's mother on account of her complicated emotions towards Tatsuya.

"Tatsuya, do you know why I haven't interfered as much as usual this time?" Maya asked, instead of answering.

Long-used to her ways of doing things, Tatsuya immediately responded "I assume it was because you wanted to use it as a learning experience for me and Miyuki. We were involved in the beginning, so it was a good micro-ecosystem to show us the life-cycle conflicts like these have."

"Quite right. And, with that being the case, I don't feel like telling you what I think about your plan. This whole thing will be up to you two to figure out. Instead, I'll just hold you two accountable for any… mishaps that may happen as a result of this. Does that seem fair?"  
"Of course," Tatsuya immediately responded, knowing no other answer would be accepted. "Thank you for your generosity."

"And what if something happens to Miyuki?" Miya asked accusingly. Her frown was then directed towards Tatsuya, blasting him with a _smothering_ layer of suspicion.

Maya giggled, responding, "You've always trusted Tatsuya to take care of his sister. Is now really any different? There's no one in the world strong enough to kill Miyuki if Tatsuya is with her."

Miya hesitated, torn between her logical side and the utter disgust she had for her son. It was true that she would probably be fine — even by herself, Miyuki could probably take on such enemies with ease — but, like any _proper_ mother, Miya was concerned about whether her son would be a good enough shield to keep her daughter safe. Judging by Maya's slight smirk, she knew exactly what her sister was thinking.

Miya glared and turned to Tatsuya to reject his plan, but hesitated when she saw his expression. True, he was a soulless monster created by (their) human experimentation, but he was not _weak_. Regardless of what Yotsuba rumors said, Miya knew he could probably destroy the Earth, if he really wanted to. And… after the numerous failures of the best-trained doctors in the world, he had been the one to find a temporary solution to her disease.

And, most importantly, the genuine worry on his face was striking. Miyuki wanted this, so he was able to show a certain degree of emotion. Seeing that reminded her of Tatsuya's one defining feature: he did not care about _anything_ more than Miyuki.

If not him, who _could_ she trust to watch over Miyuki?

"...If anything happens to her," she said at last, "it will be on your head."

It was an empty threat; everyone present knew _no one_ would hate an injured Miyuki more than Tatsuya. Judging from Maya's expression, she was fighting an inner battle to keep herself from pointing that out to her sister.

Miya glared, and Maya backed off, still chuckling to herself.

Two knocks resounded on the door.

Quickly glancing at Maya for permission, Tatsuya saw her nod and wordlessly began walking towards the door. Even if they _were_ assassins, they were unlikely to be able to genuinely hurt Tatsuya, and getting by him would be nearly impossible.

The door swung upon to show Suzaku standing at attention, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Report."

"Sir. An announcement just got back from Namaiwa. Uryu willingly left the police station with someone after talking on the phone to Chitoge. She followed the pair to a warehouse, and is currently keeping tabs on them there. They seem to be preparing to move to another location. Motives unknown."

"Is Chitoge still present?"

"No. he never showed up, only sending someone else to guide Uryu to the warehouse in his steed. Apparently they haven't seen each other in person since the police investigation started. Should Namaiwa take action?"

Tatsuya hesitated for a moment, assessing Maya and Miya out of the corner of his eye. Maya simply smirked and waved a hand in his direction, reminding him of his free-rein in the mission.

He took a deep breath.

"No. Uryu is irrelevant, the only important person is Chitoge. Have her continue observing, but pose as a tourist in the area if it looks like they're doing sweeps to check for us. Avoid detection, and direct all future reports to me."

"Understood!"

* * *

"Yuusuke… what now?" Chandra asked, swinging her legs from her now-usual spot on the bench. With absolutely _nothing_ to do, even the beautiful garden became boring.

Yuusuke just hummed in response, his eyes dazed and unfocused as he laid on the ground and stared at the sky. Their babysitter was watching them from the other side of the garden, and (while he had not _told_ them to stay still) the kids had both gotten the feeling that their rooftop-zipline adventure would not end as well with him as it had with the other two.

"Then maybe we… we could look around the other parts of the house?"

Truth be told, that was actually a pretty good idea. The only reason Yuusuke might refuse would be the boredom having shut off his brain and made him unwilling to do anything. Unfortunately for Chandra, that was exactly what had happened to him.

"Yuusuke?"

"Yeah. That'd be a good idea," he acknowledged. Chandra stood up and stared down, seemingly waiting for him to get up as well. He would, but there were two clouds he had been watching in the past hour that he really wanted to see finish their journey.

Side effects of literally having nothing to do for days: you get lazy.

Chandra looked around, nearly backing down, but then hardened her resolve into a glare.

"Yuusuke, please! Just sitting there isn't going to help!"

"I know, I know," Yuusuke surrendered, rubbing his eyes and sitting up so he was leaning on his elbows. "But is there even any point? Miyuki's going to make sure we aren't killed for being worthless, and I don't want to risk that by snooping around and finding something we're not supposed to."

"I'm sure he'll keep us away from things like that!" Chandra assured, motioning towards their babysitter.

Personally, Yuusuke was pretty sure the guy was just waiting for an excuse to get rid of them, but saying that outloud might cause him to react negatively.

Yuusuke missed home.

"I wouldn't bet on that, but… walking around should be okay so long as we stay away from anything obviously suspicious," he acknowledged and sat himself up.

Seeing their movement, their guard (Executioner? Leash?) pushed off the wall he was leaning on and began to follow them, staying fifteen feet away at all times. He seemed to be trying to give them some privacy, but Yuusuke had no doubt the man could hear everything they said.

"What would he do if we split up?" Chandra asked, watching the man out of the corner of her eye with a nervous expression. Yuusuke shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Either there's another guy watching out of sight and they would split up, or he would just catch one of us and force us to continue walking together. Personally, I'd rather not find out through experimentation, especially if it turns out to be the second option."

Chandra nodded in agreement, and looked down at her feet, continuing to discreetly watch their appointed babysitter while Yuusuke watched the road in front of them. Together they could look over 360° and Yuusuke could warn her whenever she was about to hit something.

("Pole," Yuusuke muttered and tugged her away; Chandra's "EEP" was the only warning he had before she tripped and fell on top of him. From their spot collapsed on the ground, Yuusuke closed his eyes and sighed, realizing they might need a better plan).

"Oh, Yuusuke, look!" Chandra explained, pointing to the area behind Yuusuke's left side. Following her eyes, Yuusuke noticed that a path they had walked by led to a small library where several kids were studying. It was the first sign of kids other than Tatsuya and Miyuki at the compound!

Yuusuke had a vague feeling the others might be trying to avoid them, but he was not sure why; it was not like _trained_ magicians had any reason to be scared of them. Chandra had admitted to not knowing the first thing about using fighting magic, and surely fellow magicians would be able to feel that.

Maybe this was the time to find out.

Yuusuke took a step closer, then hesitated. For all his curiosity, this sounded like something that could get them killed if they annoyed the wrong person. It seemed unlikely that every kid here was as strong as Tatsuya, but if they were-

"Yuusuke?" Chandra asked, noticing his hesitation.

"On second thought, maybe we should… stay away from them."

"Oh, but… no. No, I… I don't think we should," she turned to him. "We might have gotten tricked at the end, but it was Uryu who got us this far. If he were here, he wouldn't hesitate to go over to them."

"And look where that got him."

"Farther than we would've gotten by ourselves! If we want to learn anything true about Tatsuya, we'll have to at least talk to someone!"

Yuusuke raised an eyebrow, slightly annoyed by the passion and confidence Uryu had molded into the formerly polite and unwaveringly shy girl.

"...If we get brutally murdered because of this I'm blaming you."

"Okay!" she cheerily responded.

* * *

Kuroba Ayako glared at her twin brother as they trained, her determination manifesting in the spell she was conjuring. It was significantly easier to use specialized magic, but their families still wanted them to keep perfecting systematic magic. She did not mind the practice—any chance to one-up Miyuki was time well spent — and her brother was a satisfactory partner. The adults' motivations, however….

"Keep working," went unspoken but broadcasted all the same in their teacher's body language. "You don't want to turn out like the Shiba brat." There was never a day when Ayako and Fumiya did not want to make them fight against Tatsuya and see who truly deserved the criticism. The only good thing about being called to the main compound was getting to see their cousins.

Unfortunately, the Yotsuba head and her sister had decided to give Tatsuya and Miyuki an assignment which was taking up all of their available time. Ayako only knew about it because she heard her father muttering "the family head shouldn't show favoritism like that" and "does this mean she's already decided?" shortly before they had arrived at the main compound. A bit of perfect diffusion later—and yes, she did feel a little guilty about spying on her dad, but not enough to _stop_ — and she had a thrilling story to tell her brother about.

Fumiya had been thrilled to learn some of Miyuki's friends from school would be at the compound, and then been subsequently crushed to realize they would not be able to spend as much time with Tatsuya because of his work. They wanted to volunteer to help, but that would mean admitting to spying on a private phone call and Ayako would rather avoid that.

Seeing their growing frustration, their father recommended they transfer some of that energy into training, causing Ayako to go around and pick fights with every kid she could find.

It, unfortunately, did not help.

Soon, Fumiya and Ayako left the crowd of collapsed bodies and went to go train with each other, knowing only Tatsuya or Miyuki would really give them a challenge there. Ayako began casting consecutive fire spells at her brother, who responded with condensed blades of wind. Cracking earth was heard as the siblings gouged the ground—spell after spell thrown—fighting for dominance.

Ayako blasted a fireball the size of a cow at her brother, who dodged. Behind Fumiya, a young girl Ayako had never seen before peeked her head out from behind a wall.

"AAAHH!"

Ayako was not sure if the scream had been made by her or the girl, but knew she was helpless to change what would happen. The girl, idiotically standing like a deer in the headlights, watched the approaching ball move closer and closer to her.

Ayako shut her eyes and turned away.

 _ **BOOM**_

Loud crackling echoed, but no scream or smell of burning flesh followed. Slowly, tentatively, Ayako allowed her eyes to crack open. The black circle of burnt wood was present at the expected spot, but the girl had been pulled behind the wall at the last second by a boy whom Ayako also did not recognize.

"Are you okay?!" Fumiya demanded running over to them.

The boy's eyes were wide and terrified as he stood protectively in front of the girl, but the girl (despite being the target of the attack) calmed down quickly.

"Y-yeah, sorry," she stuttered. "I should've known better than to jump into a training area unexpectedly like that. Sorry. I-I won't do it again."

"Don't apologize, they could have killed you!" the boy hissed back in what he probably thought was a volume too quiet for the siblings to hear. But he did not have Ayako's Perfect Diffusion, and it was nearly impossible to keep something secret from a Yotsuba anyway.

"No, no… I'm not… not great at magic, but my parents have taken me to training camps before, and there are rules you're supposed to follow. I just got… overexcited."

The boy seemed to relax at that, but remained cautious all the same. He looked back and forth between the siblings, bowed, and started backing off.

"Um, sorry to interrupt you. We'll just… be… goingnow _bye_!"

In a not-very-subtle speed walk, he turned away from them and fled, carefully watching them out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly, Ayako realized why she had not recognized them.

"Wait, are you Miyuki and Tatsuya's classmates?"

The boy, who had been looking at them already, was shocked enough by the question to promptly crash into the wall in front of them.

Fumiya flinched when the sound of flesh hitting wood resounded like a clap of thunder across the training grounds. The girl eeped and knelt down to help the boy, but seemed distracted by what Ayako had said.

"You… you know about us?" she asked, staring at them like a rabbit would a fox. Despite knowing the kids had been bothering Tatsuya, Ayako almost felt a little bad.

Almost.

"We were informed about the guests who were at the compound," Ayako explained calmly, pretending she had not eavesdropped to learn everything she knew.

"Right, um…" Fumiya stared at the bruise guiltily despite not having been the one to make it. "Do you want an ice pack or something?"

* * *

After the two introduced themselves as Chandra and Yuusuke, the siblings began interrogating them for everything they knew about Miyuki and Tatsuya's school life. Ayako felt a bit like a doting grandparent, but how else was she supposed to learn about her Tatsuya-niisama? It was not like the adults would tell her anything.

"Oh, someone else is here?" Ayako asked two preteens who had also been visiting the compound's main healer. The suspecting nature of the question was covered up by her polite tone and graceful smile—just like her edicate teachers had trained her to.

"Kuroba-sama," the girl dipped her head in greeting. "My name is Fushin, I am a child of one of the Kuroba compound's bodyguards, it's an honor to see you."

The boy followed shortly after, quietly introducing himself as "Juryou," the son of a bodyguard for the Shiba manor. Apparently they had been sparring with one another and Fushin had sprained her wrist, prompting their visit to the healer.

"Oh, if your parents are… bodyguards of the Shiba family," Yuusuke began, not quite knowing how to react to his classmates having family bodyguards, "then you must know Tatsuya pretty well. Does he act super stoic even when he's at home?"

The girl working for the Kuroba family immediately tensed, unable to suppress a violent flinch at the name "Tatsuya."

"Fu-chan?" The boy asked, slightly concerned about the girl's obvious fear.

"I, sorry, I just-"

Ayako glared, standing up with a thin layer of class holding in a title wave of fury. She knew what that look meant.

' _Why would you want to know about the Yotsuba's pet monster_?'

They may have felt comfortable insulting him, but that was only because they knew he lacked the anger — the _humanity_ , some said — to care. Some children of the Yotsuba had parents who, rather than feeling disdain towards the Shiba boy, felt nothing but unparalleled fear.

So, logically, they raised their children to fear the boy who could end the _planet_ on a whim if it were not for the magic chains binding him to Miyuki.

"He's just…" Fushin continued, "someone you should probably stay away from. If he gets angry, that _monster_ could-"

"Enough!" Ayako shouted. "I don't care what your parents have taught you, but I will not stand back and hear my Tatsuya-niisama insulted like this."

"I-my apologies, Kuroba-sama," she rushed to explain. "I was careless; it will not happen again."

"Let's hope not," Fumiya responded, shocking Chandra with the vengeance in his previously innocent voice. Yuusuke was suddenly extremely glad he had not mentioned his inner thoughts regarding Tatsuya.

"Um…" Chandra briefly glanced back at Yuusuke for reassurance, then turned toward Ayako. "Sorry but… aren't you all Yotsuba? We get that Tatsuya is going to be… dangerous to someone like me, but wouldn't you have all had the same training. Is it because being older means he's gotten more experience or something?"

"No, no," Fumiya refuted. "That's just Tatsuya-oniisama! He's super cool! He was able to create a temporary reliever for Miya-sama, and he's super, super powerful. He became a guardian when he was still a kid, while all the other guardians had to be at least _teenagers_ before they could start working!"

"Mmhm! He's the best! You've probably never seen him fight, but he's the strongest with or without magic! He's not very good at systematic magic, but in a real fight he's unbeatable!"

Fushin and Juryou looked away, refraining from commenting on the situation. Yuusuke made a mental note to talk to them in private later, especially since the Kuroba siblings' answers only opened up more questions.

"Well, we go to the same school as him, so we actually got to see him use martial arts before," Chandra admitted, hearing Ayako's silent question. "It was really-" scary "-cool to watch him defeat a group of students older than him!"

"Did he?" Fumiya asked. "Well, of course he did, it's Tatsuya-oniisama, after all!"

Yuusuke leaned back in his chair in thought. It really said a lot about Tatsuya if two kids throwing giant fireballs at each other — showing more power than a _tank_ — respected him so much. A human probably had no chance standing up against a tank (one of the siblings), and, from the way they were talking, a tank had no hope of standing up against Tatsuya. What would that make him? Dynomite? A bomb? A nuke?

Sadly, as time went on, the last answer was becoming more and more promising. Yuusuke almost missed the days before the basketball game, when he had considered Tatsuya a competent classmate and nothing more. It was certainly better than the terror that came with knowing the kid sitting next to you was a nuclear weapon and should probably be treated as such.

"If he's so much more powerful than the adults, why is he still serving the family?" Yuusuke could not help but ask.

Unable to resist, Fushin muttered "because we've got an unbreakable leash chaining him to the family." Ayako again looked enraged, but this time did not deny it.

"That's… not completely wrong. He won't — he _can't_ — leave Miyuki-neesama."

Fumiya nodded, "As unfair as Tatsuya's situation is for enemies of the Yotsuba, it's even more unfair for him."

With the abrupt shift in tone the conversation took, Yuusuke had a feeling further questions on the subject would not be well-received. Sharing a look with Chandra, Yuusuke decided to prioritize their safety over answers from the siblings, promising to ask the preteens more questions soon.

"S-so," Yuusuke began. "Have any of you seen the most recent Car Wars movie?"

* * *

"Hey, wait up!" Yuusuke called out to Fushin and Juryou, the two children of Yotsuba guardians. After the healer had used magic to fix everyone up, Ayako and Fumiya had left to complete more training, extending an offer to Yuusuke and Chandra to visit any time.

It was the perfect chance to strike.

"W-we were hoping, if you're not too busy, that you could answer some questions for us. Please?" Chandra asked, tilting her head in a way that made her too adorable to refuse. Uryu had trained her well.

"Sure, what do you want to know?" Fushin asked, much more open and friendly now that Ayako and Fumiya were not silently planning how to stage her murder as an accident.

"It's about Tatsuya-"

"Absolutely not," Juryou said like an order, interrupting Fushin's response and shutting the conversation down. "Look, he's… the whole Yotsuba Miya event is making people look at him differently than before, and even Miyuki-sama has started to look upon him fondly. Who knows how influential he'll be in the future, and… he might not be as bad as we initially thought, Fushin."

"'Not be as bad,'" Fushin repeated in disbelief. "What did you see that changed the fact that he could _destroy the planet_ in, like, an hour? That _monster_ might be chained to the Yotsuba for now, but if anything happens to Miyuki-sama-" she cut off, unable to even finish the thought, and Chandra and Yuusuke were instantly reminded of the all-encompassing fear they had felt toward the very same boy.

It seemed impossible, but if she was so sure that Tatsuya could destroy the planet, they were inclined to believe her. The lack of response from Juryou did not help either. Chandra loathed to draw attention to herself, but it was becoming clear they would not explain unless she asked.

"Um… what do you mean, he's been "chained" to the Yotsuba?"

"We mean just that. Yotsuba-sama realized she needed to chain the beast, so she created Miyuk-sama to give Tatsuya at least one person he genuinely cared about. Not many people know about it, but since Juryou's parents work for Miya-sama, they made sure he was fully informed on the beast. After all, he's useless for actual magic; the only thing he's good for is being a _weapon_."

Once again, Juryou remained disturbingly silent on the matter.

"But-but why would Miyuki be the only person who he cares about?"

"Magic," Fushin explained.

"It's classified," Juryou added.

Yuusuke scowled, realizing they would not speak in more detail on the matter. But really, he did not need to know more than that to understand why everything started going wrong.

If what they said was true, Miyuki was more than a sister to Tatsuya — she was his _only reason_ to live. And, like the ignorant idiots they were, they had nearly hurt her by throwing a basketball at the unaware girl.

Suddenly, Yuusuke was very, very glad Tatsuya had stopped the ball. He did not want to know what would have happened if Tatsuya "the Yotsuba's strongest weapon" Shiba had seen Miyuki actually get _hurt_.

Chandra snaked her hand into his, both giving support and trying to still her own trembling hands. If Tatsuya was really as monstrous as the two were saying, they could be considered lucky to just be alive.

Chandra sniffled.

"Why did we think going after him was a good idea?" she whisper-squeaked.

Yuusuke just squeezed her hand tighter.

"Yuusuke? Chandra?" a voice asked, and they turned around to see Miyuki walking up to them.

Immediately, Juryou and Fushin bowed, backing off and fleeing as if it was rude of them to even be in the same room as a young miss of the Yotsuba house.

From their expressions, Yuusuke could tell they were mostly hoping Miyuki had not heard what they said.

On the other hand, both Chandra and Yuusuke relaxed at the sight of her (and the fact that Tatsuya was nowhere to be found), aware that Miyuki, at least, was trying to help them.

"Hi Miyuki!" Chandra squeaked in her excitement. "We're taking a walk around the manor… town… house… thing," she explained, not quite sure what to call the enormous property which was solely owned by the Yotsuba. Miyuki giggled, understanding her confusion. It was technically a house and a backyard, but the presence of multiple buildings certainly made it seem like a town.

"I was on my way to the training grounds. If you're not busy, would you like to walk with me? I feel like we haven't had much time to talk recently."

"Of course!" Chandra beamed, immediately agreeing to the offer.

As excited as he was, Yuusuke tried to be a bit more cautious, asking "Is Tatsuya not with you right now? I don't see him anywhere."

He really, really hoped he sounded natural.

"Unfortunately not, my aunt told us some new details regarding Uryu, and my brother has decided to use them to track him down. So long as I'm at the Yotsuba compound, it's unlikely anything will happen to me, and Onii-sama can get to me almost instantly if anything happens."

Yuusuke nodded and caught up to the two girls. Chandra looked like she wanted to ask why he had lagged behind them, but a quick glare shut her up. They could talk about it later, but it was a bad idea to ask in front of Miyuki.

"So, you've made some friends during your stay?" Miyuki inquired, thinking about the two preteens she had seen with her friends. "That's good, I was worried you would be lonely."

"Your cousins too!" Chandra added. "Ayako and Fumiya wanted to hear about your life at school. We kept trading stories about you and… and Tatsuya. Fushin and Juryou — the preteens — had stories too. They're the children of bodyguards for your family."  
"They're like Tatsuya, right?" Yuusuke asked, trying to figure out the connection. The duo's parents obviously detested Tatsuya, but Yuusuke had no idea if they had even met before.

"No… not really. If they're bodyguards, they're plenty strong, but my family has personal guards we call guardians, who are always a cut above the rest. Their parents might defend the property or something, but I doubt they interact with Tatsuya very much."

"Ah," Chandra exclaimed, not really sure how to continue the conversation. She knew she should probably let it die there, but curiosity quickly took root in her mind.

Miyuki was actually answering their questions; if they did not ask now, how were they ever going to get an idea of the truth behind the being who had haunted their nightmares for months. Chandra _needed_ to understand how much of what happened was just the delusions of middle schoolers, and how much was real.

"Um… it was a little weird actually," Chandra began, looking down to avoid making eye contact with either of her friends (one to whom she was asking an intrusive question, and one who looked like he was trying to eviscerate her on the spot for continuing the conversation). "They both seemed to have really strong opinions about Tatsuya. And it makes sense with your cousins, of course, but I didn't get how Fushin and Juryou's parents would… well-"

"Have such a bad impression of him?" Miyuki suggested.

Both Chandra and Yuusuke flinched at the straightforward answer, not having expected her to admit to anyone being against her Onii-sama.

Miyuki gave a small, bitter chuckle at their reaction. "Actually, it used to be much worse. A little while ago, I talked to Uryu about a problem, and — ironically — his suggestion led to Tatsuya improving his reputation in the family. Many still see him as a… monster, I guess, but it's much better than before."

Chandra had a hard time believing it could have been _worse_ before. This was Tatsuya's home, surely at least someone was on his side? From what she heard, the Kuroba siblings were only visiting, but that would mean….

' _Oh. He really was always alone. That's why Miyuki means so much to him_ ,' Chandra realized. A painful shot of guilt made her clench her fists in embarrassment; no wonder Tatsuya had treated their attacks like minor inconveniences, he probably dealt with far worse on a daily basis.

* * *

After a long training session (which Chandra and Yuusuke had left half-way through after the novelty of her magic wore off and boredom sunk in), Miyuki returned to her room to find her brother still working on the search. Tatsuya nodded to welcome her in, then turned back to the screen.

The person who kidnapped Uryu was most likely working for Chitoge, so Tatsuya had looked through all the records of Chitoge's colleges on past bodyguard jobs for a person matching the description. It was a perfect assignment for a boy nearly _incapable_ of boredom, so long as he was right about the connection between Chitoge and the man.

Luckily, two hours into his search he found two men who matched the description. Ten minutes after he sent the two pictures over to the Yotsuba witness to review, he received confirmation.

Harrison Okiya was the man who matched the kidnapper's appearance.

Tall, trained in combat, magician; experienced, but otherwise unremarkable. Supposedly, Chitoge had worked with him previously and the two had kept in contact. No reason to hate the Yotsuba, but (given that he was trained by the military) no reason to like them either.

"What next, Onii-sama?" Miyuki asked as she leaned in to get a better look at the screen. It was a map of various districts in Japan, mainly focusing on areas with desolate warehouses and abandoned buildings. The kinds of places rats like Chitoge loved to hide in.

"Tracking Uryu down. A black car came to pick him up, but the person watching them lost track of it, so I'm calculating likely locations for him to be. Oba-yue has left it to us for now, but if we take too long I doubt she'll hesitate to massacre everyone until she finds Chitoge. You want to help Uryu, right?"

"I do," Miyuki confirmed, putting her hand on top of her brother's. "Sorry for being so selfish, Onii-sama."

"No, it's fine. I might not be able to understand those sorts of emotions, but I want at least one of us to be able to feel like that. Besides, it's a good training exercise for hostage incidents."

A few clicks and the screen zoomed in on one specific location.

"Based on the shipments and security this place has had over the past few months, I'm 83% sure this is their main base of operations. I doubt they would let Uryu into that place, but it is true that Uryu would be easiest to monitor while there, so I sent a few people ahead to find out."

And that _continued_ to surprise him even days into the operation. It had started after he helped with Yotsuba Miya's disease, but Maya's added authority erased almost all objections to following his orders. She really was letting them treat this like training for becoming head of the family.

Miyuki gently squeezed his hand, instinctively knowing what he was thinking. Neither of them _wanted_ to become head of the Yotsuba, but Tatsuya's unique position made the circumstances complicated. She did not want to continue living like that, but….

But so long as she and her brother were together, they would be fine.

* * *

Chandra and Yuusuke jumped as Suzaku slammed a giant stack of papers on the table in front of them.

"You said you wanted to help?" he asked rhetorically. "Great, cause Tatsuya's got something you can help with. Write down everything you know about Uryu, and he'll tell you what to do next."

Judging by the growl in his voice, their previous ziplining-through-Miyuki's-window attempt had not been forgiven nor forgotten. Nodding up and down with the frantic speed of hummingbird wings, Yuusuke rushed to pick up a piece of paper and begin writing.

Yuusuke was pretty worried about upsetting the scary magicians, but—more than that—he was desperate. He needed something to do, something to help with. He needed to know that there was something he could do to make sure Uryu did not get gutted like a fish when the Yotsuba attacked.

To his right, he heard the scratch of ripping paper as Chandra's pencil was pressed down hard enough to cut through. She ducked an embarrassed head down at Suzaku's raised eyebrow, but Yuusuke squeezed her hand in understanding. It seemed he was not the only one who was worried about how the Yotsuba would use the information they had on their friend.

But that was why they _had_ to be involved, to be valued as something marginally more important than a fly on the wall. It was wrong for Uryu to be the only one to suffer for the mistakes all of them had made. Yuusuke would have gone to Tatsuya for support too, given that he was the one to start it all.

' _But I can't_ ,' he reminded himself. ' _Those two we talked to earlier, especially that Fushin girl, seemed pretty confident that Miyuki was the only thing keeping him from "destroying the planet." I can't do anything that risky_.'

Miyuki and his cousins may think Tatsuya was worthy of respect, but there was a fine line between incomparable competence and unavoidable danger; he had to stay alert.

First step: getting more information.  
"Um… Suzaku? Did Miyuki and Tatsuya tell you what they wanted us to do? I just want to get an idea for what's going to happen later. I mean, I know they're super strong, so I don't see what sort of invasion plan for capturing Uryu could involve us. Are we just going to be there to make Uryu comfortable and… keeping him from wanting to resist after he is found?"

"Well… that's what I thought at first too, but, from the way they described it, it seems like Tatsuya wants to try to get the kid to come willingly in the first place. There are, quote, 'more ways to solve something than with violence,' end quote. I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

"So you… think we should just trust them, Mr. Scar-Suzaku?" Chandra asked, nearly too frustrated to remember to switch "scary cop" to "Suzaku."

"A piece of advice: don't worry so much. There's a reason the Yotsuba has such loyal workers despite our general exclusion from the world. Our leaders know _exactly_ what they're doing."

The two frantically nodded in agreement, not wanting to risk upsetting the dangerous man over something he (apparently) felt so strongly about. The two then made eye contact, communicating to each other their true feelings of apprehension and uncertainty were the same.

Suzaku sighed, knowing they thought they were being much more subtle than they really were. Instead of pointing it out however, he collected the papers they had written on and moved on to the next phase of the plan: their parents.

"Miyuki-sama said she would like you to try and call your parents for us. As far as they know, the government brought them to another building and is taking care of them, but Uryu's kidnapping most likely shook them. Please inform them that you are still in protective custody as witnesses of possible terrorists."

"O-okay," Chandra agreed, feeling like she should be more surprised that "in protective custody as witnesses of possible terrorists" applied to her. Ever since she started getting involved with the Shiba siblings, her sense of what was normal had been completely thrown out of whack.

Still, it would be nice to talk to her parents again. She should probably let her dad know she had not been kidnapped by criminals with a high chance of being murdered in her sleep every night (even though that was exactly what happened). Besides, he might know something about how Uryu's sister was taking the situation. Chandra hoped she was doing okay and knew it was not her fault.

* * *

Even though he was not supposed to be able to experience such emotions, the stress of that week had been piling up on Tatsuya. Apparently the Yotsuba agent had tracked down the area Tatsuya specified, but found far more mercenaries present than he had predicted. It would be a little harder than he had hoped, and would probably require a full operation against them.

And there was Miyuki's mom to think about. Every time he went to check up on his "creator" (her words, not his) she would make the fact that she was going to die soon increasingly clear. As though she conveniently forgot that she would be bed ridden and possibly dead already if he had not gotten involved. He was not searching for gratitude, but her obvious noncompliance wasted his time.

He missed the days when he was just Miyuki's guardian. All of the side-jobs he was forced to take on increased the risk that she would be attacked while he was away. He was still watching her at all times, but it still weighed on his mind throughout the day.

Having to speak to his "creator" certainly did not help.

"Is my sister really trusting _you_ to lead the expedition?" she asked, because without someone else to talk or complain about Tatsuya to, she was willing to acknowledge his presence. Regardless of what Miyuki said he should do, he greatly preferred being a fly on the wall to _this_.

"Yes, Miya-sama. She is."

"And so? Are you going to try to save the people working under you, only to have them end up like me? A bit more movement, and another few months to live. Oh, yes, I'm practically normal! As though I won't inevitably die any day now!" she bitterly mocked, her sarcasm shocking the nurses waiting in the back of the room. All of them had grown up in the Yotsuba, but they had never heard their mistress be anything but elegant.

Tatsuya supposed the knowledge of her impending death was stressing her out, and he was the only one she felt comfortable taking it out on.

Oh, well. Better him than Miyuki.

"I will try to make sure there are no lasting consequences for our family."

"Will you? Like you 'tried' to cure _me_?"

How exactly was he supposed to respond to that? As far as anyone knew, present technology was not advanced enough to develop a cure, especially in the few-month time frame Miya had. Unfortunately, reminding her of that was unlikely to go over well.

"...Yes, Miya-sama."

"Miyuki will be there too, won't she? If something happens to her-"

" _Nothing_ will happen," Tatsuya growled, interrupting before completely processing the situation. He flinched back and looked up, suddenly aware of what he had done.

They made eye contact, and he could see the mild surprise in her eyes at his back-talk. No anger (yet), just surprise.

"I-I apologize. I swear, nothing will happen to her," he promised, bowing down to 90° and clenching his fists in determination. What was wrong with him? He knew better than to speak out.

But then she brought up Miyuki and he-

"...Normally, I would demand that the person in charge remove Miyuki from the operation, regardless of her personal feelings on the matter," Miya began, remembering the times she had done just that when a leader asked if Miya wanted to give her daughter hands-on experience. "And now you're the one in charge."

"...Yes, Miya-sama."

She scowled at him, then looked around at the room, covered with machines Tatsuya had created to monitor her condition and ensure she could still live without being confined to bed rest. He might be a monster, but she had to admit he was, at the very least, capable.

And it was _Miyuki_.

"...I will leave protecting my daughter to you. Do not fail me."

Tatsuya's eyes widened in shock at the implied approval, then answered, "Of course, Miya-sama."

* * *

Chandra eeped as Yuusuke swatted her hands, not having noticed she was picking at her nails in worry. He shot her a concerned look, but she gave him a reassuring (at least, she hoped it looked reassuring) smile and shook her head. She was fine; they could do this.

'This' meaning infiltrate a terrorist organization and convince a member to join their side. Granted, Uryu was not a _real_ terrorist, but Chandra could not help feeling like her shy, civilian, barely-a-magician self was an eon ago.

They both took a deep breath, causing Tatsuya to glance back at them from the corner of his eye. It was still stressful to be in the same room as him, but Chandra felt like she was starting to get a hang of it. She had to be; this plan would not work if she could not trust the boy.

Even if she really, _really_ wished someone else could be their guide. Unfortunately, Miyuki was confident that "no one is more capable than Onii-sama, and he can simultaneously take you through the building while giving me strategic advice to turn into orders. I'm also not in danger, because he'll be keeping an eye on my surroundings with magic!"

And, while it was great Miyuki was not in danger, it did not really help Chandra feel better.

"Stay close to me," Tatsuya ordered, before turning away from them and dropping into a hole in the ground. Apparently they would be going through the generator rooms to avoid being detected. Chandra was just grateful they got to avoid the sewers (' _and if **that** doesn't say a lot about how my life has changed…_').

Chandra squeezed Yuusuke's hand again, then followed. While she was glad they were being led by the super-powerful "monster of the Yotsuba" (Fushin's words, not hers), she hoped it would not make convincing Uryu even harder. The boy had developed something of an obsession with hating Tatsuya in the past year.

"Duck down."

"What?"

Chandra could not even finish her question before she was abruptly yanked down alongside Yuusuke.

 ** _BANG BANG_**

Bullets broke through the wall next to where their heads used to be and hit the wall on the other side of them. Chandra's scream went unheard under the clash of bullets, but she froze in fear all the same. The Yotsuba had begun their attack, and Chandra was kneeling on the floor—her head on her knees—right in the center.

What was she _doing here_?

A few seconds later, the sound of gunfire stopped and footsteps indicated the victors leaving the room next to them. Two more seconds, and Tatsuya stood up.

"We should keep going."

"Wha- _now_?" Yuusuke asked, speaking the thoughts Chandra would have said if she was not still bent over in fear. Tatsuya looked between the two of them, still emotionless but somehow clearly expressing how annoyed he was to have to work with two civilians. The "committee" might have pretended to understand the world Tatsuya was part of, but she could see now that they would not even register as _ants_ to someone with Tatsuya's abilities.

Chandra wondered if Uryu felt the same way.

...Probably not. If there was one thing that stood out while Uryu was leader, it was his overwhelming optimism that they could make a difference.

A hand was suddenly on Chandra's shoulder, and a flinch zapped through her body, tensing her muscles in preparation to flee. Tatsuya's eyes stared back at her with the same apathy they always contained.

"We need to go," he repeated, letting go of her shoulder now that he had her attention.

"Ah… right."

Tatsuya moved back to the front to lead them, and Yuusuke moved closer to her, unintentionally creating an invisible divide between the "kids" group and the monster leading them. She was starting to understand what that preteen girl, Fushin, had meant.

Just like with the gunshots from earlier, Tatsuya continued to perfectly predict where attacks would occur and position them away from the danger. "Duck down." "Step back." "Turn sideways." Soon, Chandra stopped thinking about the commands and started following without considering the orders; she and Yuusuke were in the air before they asked "how high?"

And suddenly, Chandra understood. _This_ was what her classmate — no, calling him "her classmate" did not even scratch the _surface_ of the paradox known as Tatsuya Shiba — went through every day. Despite all the death and danger coming at them from all sides, Tatsuya never showed the slightest bit of concern; he was used to this.

Was it any wonder, then, that he seemed so terrifying and emotionless to the civilians he went to school with? Chandra still did not know what he had to go through growing up, but she was starting to think every interpretation of the boy was somewhat right. Miyuki, the Kuroba siblings, Fushin, Chitoge, and Uryu were all right, despite how contradictory their ideas seemed to be.

One person's demon was another person's hero; it just depended on who said monster was trying to protect.

* * *

Tatsuya knew the other two were scared. It made sense for them to be terrified in their first battle, and (although it was inconvenient) it also made sense for them to fear _him_. Everyone did, after all.

He had gotten them to listen to his commands and kept them alive, but he would need to be as willfully ignorant as Uryu to not notice how they had flinched when he used decomposition to turn a wall to dust. He did not really have a choice though, the normal way to Uryu was filled with guards and fighting.

The good news was that his abilities allowed them to reach Uryu without much trouble; the bad news was that his abilities might have scared Chandra and Yuusuke enough to cause them to return to Uryu's side.

He hoped it would not come to that; he did not want to tell Miyuki on why her classmates were all dead, especially if it was his fault.

"He's behind this wall," Tatsuya announced quietly, turning around to face the other two. "Do you know what you're going to say, or do you need a moment to decide?"

"Uh-no, we're ready," Chandra answered after sharing a glance with Yuusuke.

Tatsuya nodded, and then snapped his fingers, sending a wave of powerful magic through the room before them. In an instant. Without a CAD. Again.

Tatsuya watched Chandra's expression shift through 100 different levels of disbelief, and, in hindsight, considered that he might be destroying her understanding of the laws of magic by using flash cast and his innate magic so often. He really should have just used his CAD.

Too late now.

"I used a simple spell to stop vibrations, so no one will be able to hear you," he explained. "This will be broken if you make too much noise, so I suggest you be careful."

The two frantically nodded, and Tatsuya belatedly realized his warning might have come across as more of a threat. It seemed he still had a long way to go before he could trust himself in a normal environment.

He briefly considered telling them something that would improve their opinion of him, but he was not Miyuki. She could give them a reassuring smile and have them fall at her feet within seconds; Tatsuya only knew how to support the people closest to him, and poorly at that.

So much to work on, so little time.

With that last depressing thought, Tatsuya stepped forward and placed his hand on the wall, turning the last barrier between them and Uryu into dust.

Immediately, a terrified scream began echoing through the sound-proofed rooms.

* * *

Things always went smoother when Uryu was the one in control. Yuusuke used to think that was because of his charismatic leadership, and, while that was not entirely wrong (he was certainly good at riling people up), it was becoming increasingly obvious that he also detracted from progress when he was not in charge. Case in point: the hysterical shouting which had wasted the past two minutes of his life. Luckily, when the sound began Tatsuya had simultaneously snapped his fingers and silenced Uryu specifically, keeping the room's sound barrier intact.

Now Yuusuke would never claim to be an expert on lip reading, but he had a pretty good idea of what Uryu was trying to say.

"How DARE YOU STEP IN HERE AND-"

"You TRAITORS! Allying yourselves with monsters like-"

"-But I suppose that was all that could be expected useless footstools who only exist-"

"-this _ISN'T_ what I taught you!"

"JUST TRY TO TAKE ME!"

And on and on he went.

Time passed, and the yelling continued until Chandra looked like she was about to start crying.

Yuusuke grabbed her hand and gave her a little squeeze, but his reassuring smile hid the annoyance beginning to bubble and overflow within him. _Uryu_ took it upon himself to guide and mentor Chandra, helping her come out of her shell. It had worked really well, and Yuusuke had gotten to know her through that. Then Uryu _left them_ and trusted someone he should not have. Uryu, who (despite all his confidence) was just a child, sometimes less aware than Yuusuke was. Someone who had no idea what sorts of damage his worlds cause. And now, because of the power of those words, Uryu was reversing the good he had done for Chandra (their only connection might have been Uryu, but the girl did not _deserve_ this) and had put _himself_ in a situation where he could very realistically **_die_** soon.

Needless to say, Yuusuke was very, very annoyed.

"Uryu _STOP IT_!" he shouted, opposing the other boy for the first time since just after the basketball incident. Tatsuya sent him a slight glare for raising his voice, but snapped his fingers again and replaced the sound barrier.

"I… what?" Apparently Tatsuya had given him his voice back. Goodie. At least he was listening now.

"Can't you just listen to us for one second? I know you love hearing yourself talk, but we can't do anything if you don't give us a chance to speak and if you don't give us a chance to speak then you might end up _dead_ before we can do anything to help!"

Uryu paused as he registered what had been said, and then jumped back to face Tatsuya (who had been completely silent throughout the conversation), preparing for an attack.

"Not from him, Uryu," Chandra explained, wiping the tears which had been forming in her eyes. "You heard the alarm, right? There's an attack, and Mr. Chitoge isn't going to make it through this! Miyuki was worried and sent us with Tatsuya to try to get you out of it before you get hurt."

Yuusuke noticed she very pointedly neglected to mention that, if he were not taking them to see Uryu, Tatsuya would probably have been a leading figure in the attack.

"Well… don't tell me you think Tatsuya is _human_ , then!" Uryu demanded, pretending the dangerous magician was not in the room with them. "He's just a monster!"

"I-I mean you're not _wrong_ ," Chandra accepted. "You're just not right either."

"...What?"

Both boys had turned to stare at Chandra with looks of utter bafflement. Even Tatsuya gave her a confused glance, making her blush down to her toes.

"I mean… well, he's both? Sorta? It's hard to explain right now. Anyways, please come with us! I promise, we're only trying to protect you from what's been going on. Besides, your sister's really worrying about you!"

"Mmhm," Uryu imitated with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure she is. What, did she text her friends to start planning a party to celebrate my death, but worried about not having enough cake at home?"

Getting Mion's "Mmhm" thrown at her by _Uryu_ of all people shut them down for a moment, and neither Yuusuke nor Chandra knew how to respond to the question. Sure, they had fought, but Uryu had never given any indication that his relationship with his sister was _that_ bad.

"Don't give me that look," Uryu snapped. "Mr. Chitoge told me all about what's been happening while I've been gone. And about how you two have already been brainwashed by Tatsuya and the Yotsuba!"

Feeling slightly embarrassed about laying out his genuine feelings, Uryu looked away from his friends and caused his eyes to land on Tatsuya.

"And what about you?" Uryu demanded. "Why would you care about me?! Why are you involved in any of this, I would have thought the 'petty struggles of humans' would be below you."

Tatsuya looked confused at the part that was said as if it was a direct quote (it sounded much more like something his aunt would say than Uryu), but got over it quickly and smiled.

"You're still my classmate Uryu. Is it really that surprising that I was worried when you decided to join a group of _literal_ terrorists?"

"No. No, no, no, no, no," Uryu said as he shook his head, but his dazed gaze made it clear he was not responding to Tatsuya's question. "No, I've watched you for years! I don't know if you somehow forgot that, but I know what you look like when you're pretending to be human. This won't work on me!"

Tatsuya tilted his head, considering Uryu's argument for a moment, then acknowledged it; all traces of emotion vanished from his expression.

"Miyuki cares about you," he explained. "She knew the family would do something like this, so she wanted to give you a way to escape."

Despite blushing for a moment at what Tatsuya said, Uryu quickly looked away and calmed himself, explaining "That's far from enough to make me abandon our noble cause! Besides, I know better than to just take your word for something like this?"

"Uryu, you can't continue fighting for the rights of non-magicians if you're dead!" Yuusuke hissed, the stress of the situation finally cracking through his calm facade.

"And submitting to the Yotsuba is better?"

"You're just going to Miyuki!" Chandra refuted. "The Yotsuba have almost nothing to do with this! It's just the four of us and Miyuki. Magicians are coming, and Miyuki wants to help you!"

"You've been tricked by Tatsuya!" Uryu declared, backing away. "I can't trust anything you have to say!"

Abruptly, Tatsuya stiffened and turned toward the hallway they had just come through. Yuusuke also turned, terrified of whatever could make _Tatsuya_ react in such a way.

"What's wrong?" Chandra asked, noticing as well.

"...Miyuki's coming."

* * *

Miyuki knew Tatsuya (and her Mom… and her aunt… and Hayama… and maybe even Sakurai Honami from beyond the grave) would be extremely disappointed in her for sneaking out of the safety of the carefully guarded control-room, but Miyuki did not care; there was no way she could just sit back and wait as the conversation between her classmates turned more into insulting _her brother_ than getting anything done.

So, with a whispered explanation she knew Tatsuya would hear even a mile away, she snuck out of the room to follow after them. Tatsuya called her, begging her to turn back, but eventually relented and kept her updated about when to hide or wait for the outside battle to pass.. And besides, even if she was confronted with a battle, she was confident she would be able to deal with it easily.

She doubted her brother would feel the same way, but he needed to trust her more anyways, so she pushed through regardless.

"Stop. Wait two seconds, then continue with your head lowered," Tatsuya instructed through the phone. Miyuki did just that, and then found herself in front of the door she knew her friends had entered just a few minutes earlier. She reached to open it, but was forced to jump back as the door swung open from the inside.

"""Miyuki!""" the committee shouted simultaneously. Miyuki immediately covered Chandra's mouth as Tatsuya covered Uryu's—it was like no one realized they were still in the middle of a battlefield— and Yuusuke covered his own mouth when he realized what happened.

Looking behind her shoulder for witnesses, Miyuki slipped into the room and added additional magic sealing the area from the war outside.

"Hi, everyone," she greeted, but focused her eyes on Uryu's reaction. Like she expected, he blushed furiously for a moment, but then surprisingly shook himself out of it and focused on Tatsuya.

Sometimes, in the back of her mind, Miyuki wondered if this was all her fault. After all, when Uryu started hating Tatsuya, he was just copying what he had seen Miyuki do when reacting to her brother's protection against the ball. Maybe, if she had realized the truth about her brother sooner, none of this would have happened.

Miyuki mentally shook her head, wiping the miscellaneous thoughts from her mind. It would do her no good to be distracted _now_.

"Uryu," she began, sucking in the room's collective attention as the leader she had been taught to be. "From what I understand, you refuse to go with them because you think Tatsuya is going to lead you into a trap, correct?"

As painful as it was to refer to her Onii-sama as "Tatsuya," she could not risk making Uryu associate her with the negative emotions he had towards her brother. After a moment's hesitation, Uryu nodded to her question and turned her eyes back on her brother.

Part of making a point was maintaining the focus of the group; she needed to grab his attention again.

"And yet, you really think you can trust Mr. Chitoge more than us?"

"I…" Uryu paused, obviously never having considered her point. "Well… I can't trust you three! You've obviously been lied to by Tatsuya!"

"Then why are you so sure you haven't been lied to by Chitoge? He's a magician too, and an adult who's been trained in combat, at that."

"He-he wouldn't do that to me, we're on the same side!" Uryu floundered uncertainly.

"Except he's brought this huge battle to the place he's taken you without sending anyone to come and get you. You can take care of yourself, but _anyone_ would need assistance to get through a war between magicians unscathed."

Well, not her brother, but it was almost true.

Uryu looked down at his feet, finally confused enough to look away from her brother (who was still glaring at her with the rage of an inferno for coming despite his protests). No refute came, and Miyuki decided to give Uryu a moment to think over what she said.

"...But-but how do I know Tatsuya isn't going to manipulate me too!"

Miyuki stepped closer, startling Uryu into looking into her eyes.

"Tatsuya isn't here for you, Uryu, he's here because I want him to be. And it's not just me, Chandra and Yuusuke are here too. I promise, he won't do anything I don't want him to do. Even if you can't trust him, can't you at least trust me?"

Pretending her brother was nothing but the weapon her family had made him as hurt more than she could describe, but she did not know how else to convince Uryu. Honestly, she was half-tempted to back out and abandon Uryu by this point, but going back on her word because it was too difficult would damage her reputation in the Yotsuba.

She mentally reminded herself to be more careful before making a request like this.

A hand brushed hers, and Miyuki realized Tatsuya knew how she truly felt about saying those words. The reassurance was groundbreaking, and Miyuki had to fight to not collapse in relief.

"I… I guess I can trust _you_ ," Uryu allowed, buying into her words. A weapon was only dangerous if it was pointed at you; he probably felt he was safe so long as Miyuki was by his side.

It was far from a long-term solution, but she would take what she could get.

"Shall we go?" she asked, holding out a hand for Uryu to take.

"...Okay."

* * *

The tunnels were much easier to get through when Tatsuya was actually by her side, giving directions in person. It seemed both Chandra and Yuusuke had already gotten used to the slow, methodical process of following Tatsuya's orders, and Miyuki helped Uryu along whenever he hesitated.

Through the walls, Miyuki could hear a constant stream of gunfire (apparently Chitoge had non-magician friends as well), and explosions too precise to have been caused by anything but magic. And screams. Lots of screams.

The Yotsuba soldiers were far too well-trained to react to pain in a way that would broadcast their position like that, but the mercenaries—although trained—would not have received that kind of training. Miyuki would have tried pointing that out to the others, but she had a feeling the fact that "those are enemy screams, our side knows how to take pain silently" would not be as helpful as she hoped.

Tatsuya abruptly stopped, turning to the wall to their left and concentrating.

" _Get back_!" he hissed as loud as he dared, shoving the kids behind as Miyuki put up a protective barrier around the group. The wall collapsed in on itself shortly after as a large truck ran into it, the fleeing driver apparently having been hit with magic that caused perplexity.

Chandra screamed into Miyuki's hands as they covered the girl's mouth, and Tatsuya silently forced them all to duck down so the vehicle's trunk was between them and the driver; Tatsuya could see him, but he could not see them.

The battle outside continued, and it quickly became apparent that whoever cast the spell on the man was not following to finish up the job. Moving around risked awakening the man, but most magic attacks would reveal their position to anyone looking too closely. There was the only way for them to kill the man without letting anyone outside see: decomposition.

Reaching a hand out, Tatsuya set to work, reaching through the man's body and disintegrating the brain without affecting the man's outside appearance. A second passed, and the man was dead.

From the outside he looked fine, but his skull had become a desolate cavern.

Tilting his head to the side, Tatsuya wordlessly ordered the others to sneak under the truck as far from the hole as possible. He went first to show them the way, and then worked with Miyuki to bring the others around.

The screams outside were unnerving to the students, and Chandra knew she would have nightmares for months after it was over. The only saving grace for her and Yuusuke was that they did not actually _know_ any of the people (both with and without magic) fighting.

Uryu was a different story.

"Duck, Mr. Matsumoto!" he screamed at a guy who gave him dinner one time. Thanks to the warning, the man was able to dodge a spell being targeted at his back. Uryu relaxed, full of relief and pride at his accomplishment.

Tatsuya cursed, full of shock and rage at Uryu's stupid, _stupid_ decision.

Yotsuba magicians immediately began firing at Uryu, the only one they could see. He flinched and looked away, but Tatsuya protected him by deleting every spell that came their way. He was tempted to stand up and reveal himself to stop the magic, but knew that would only cause the magicians or normals working under Chitoge to attack.

Chandra hurriedly shimmied out to join Tatsuya and Yuusuke on the other side of the truck, but Uryu just. Kept. Standing. There. As still as a deer in the headlights, but also closing his eyes as if that would make the people shooting at him disappear.

Just as Miyuki was about to tug Uryu down, the information dimension alerted Tatsuya to the presence of Yotsuba magicians circling around the side.

"Get down," he hissed, causing Chandra, Miyuki, and Yuusuke to flatten themselves on the ground.

Uryu, of course, did not listen.

" _Uryu_!"

There was no time to continue, however, as the magicians soon had a clear firing range towards them and Tatsuya was forced to divide his attention in two directions.

Spells were flying everywhere, and in the heat of battle there was no chance the Yotsuba would recognize Miyuki, who was supposed to be as the base, or Tatsuya, a weapon who was constantly disregarded, hated, or ignored by the family heads.

He had never really cared about the reaction of the Yotsuba before, but he felt like he was starting to understand what Miyuki was talking about.

"Look out!" Miyuki shouted, and Tatsuya belatedly realized he had missed a non-magician who had climbed on top of the truck, gun in hand.

Time seemed to slow down.

A shot was fired at Uryu, who continued to stare wide-eyed at the attacker. Tatsuya started to turn to help, but had to turn back to first remove the few _dozen_ spells being fired at them.

When he turned back again, it was not to stop the shot, but to catch Uryu, who had somehow finally worked up the nerve to _get out of the way_ and jumped over the trunk to Tatsuya's side.

No, that was not quite right; he had not jumped. Miyuki had pushed him.

And taken the shot herself.

Tatsuya saw _**red**_.

"Miyu-"

Chandra's scream was cut off by a blinding light — the purest pulse of magic she had ever seen — and the screams of the soldiers who had been attacking her as she felt herself falling into a hole which had not been there a second ago.

When Chandra opened her eyes, the battle was gone. No, it would be more accurate to say there was no trace of the fight left.

Instead, a gaping crater had appeared right in the middle of the building, the truck, broken walls, and people attacking them were no more than dust in the wind.

Chandra looked around the house-sized crater she had apparently fallen into, and saw something strange at the edges. It looked to be leaking a viscous red liquid, but it was too long and thin to be any animal she knew.

Actually, it looked more like a body part, as if every attacker within Tatsuya's range had not been blown away, but instead disintegrated and left behind the parts of themselves too far out to be affected. The literal dust in the wind circled around her, and realization of what happened finally set it.

Chandra _screamed_.

* * *

He vaguely registered Chandra screaming in the background, but Tatsuya could not bring himself to care. Instead, he was leaning down next to his sister, trying to figure out where the damage was.

A graze from the bullet wound had blood seeping out of her thigh like juice from a squeezed orange. Tatsuya lifted his hands to perform regrowth, but they were immediately slapped down by Miyuki.

"Onii-sama, no. We should just go," Miyuki declared, filling her CAD with magic and using it to support herself. This whole operation was her idea, after all. Last time Tatsuya used regrowth on her, she had not known he could feel everything that happened; she would not let him experience that again.

Then, stupidly, she stumbled, instantly destroying all credibility she might have had with Tatsuya.

"Miyuki, we can flee faster if you let me heal you," Tatsuya reminded, glancing nervously at the people halting their battle to see what had happened. The dust surrounding the crater he had made using decomposition would buy them a little time, but not too much more.

With a push of her own innate magic, Miyuki broke his concentration on his magic. He was still a comparative novice at this kind of magic, so she knew he would not use it on her until he was sure he could make it work perfectly. She stood yet again, this time going slowly enough to avoid stumbling.

"Onii-sama, this is my burden for starting all of this. Let me carry it alone."

She turned away from him, but Tatsuya grabbed her hand and forced her to face him.

"Please. I'll do _anything_ ," he whispered, being overloaded with emotions for the first time since Okinawa. "What do I need to do to make you let me heal you."

"Onii-sama-"

"Miyuki, please. Please let me help you, I-"

"This is my fault to begin with. I'm fine."

Uryu stared, wide-eyed, and watched one of the most dangerous magicians of all time literally beg Uryu's school crush to let him heal her.

He had been frozen in fear today, but not because of Tatsuya. The gun which had nearly ended his life had been wielded by a non-magician of all things. A non-magician who was supposed to be _on his side_ , but had apparently not cared enough to make that distinction.

But Tatsuya, who was saving him, looked like Miyuki's rejection of his help was equivalent to a natural disaster. And, as Uryu looked over at them, all he could see was an overprotective older brother trying to help his sister.

" _Are we even sure what we saw really happened_?" Yuusuke had asked that first day. Uryu was sure he did not mis-see, but he was becoming less and less confident about how he understood the things that were happening. After all, Mr. Chitoge had told him that a "monster like Tatsuya doesn't understand the _meaning_ of the word 'emotion.'"

But there, as a simple child worrying over his younger sister, was the most human he had ever seen Tatsuya look.

"Miyuki," he whispered just loud enough to be heard. "You're wrong."

Even _Chandra_ was looking at him like he had grown a second head.

Blushing slightly, Uryu furrowed his brows in determination and looked straight into her eyes.

"It's not your fault, it's mine. I know, I'm-I'm finally seeing that it is. Just let him heal you so we can go, or we'll all die!"

Regardless of whether she agreed with Uryu's assessment or not, his words distracted her long enough for Tatsuya to work his magic on her. The bullet wound in her leg disappeared as if it had never been there at all.

* * *

There was no loud cheer as they made it back to camp, but Miyuki could feel the relief from the officers she left in charge radiating off them in waves. The screen on the wall of their base showed static for a moment, before condensing into a clear image.

""Hello, Oba-yue,"" Miyuki and Tatsuya both said with a bow.

"Was it successful?" Maya asked, completely ignoring their greeting.

"It was."

"Wonderful, then we no longer have any use for them. Miyuki?"

"I agree with your assessment, Oba-yue. We will take care of them."

"Lovely. Although, my darling nephew seems to be a little unhappy," she noticed, relishing in Miyuki's slight twitch at her correct inference of the situation. "I take it you would like to do the honors?"

Not that anyone else had the firepower necessary to, but she still enjoyed asking.

"Thank you, Oba-yue."

Maya knew the Uryu boy had only been brought there because Chitoge had gambled and given him too much information. The Yotsuba were Japan's ultimate defense and anti-terrorism organization; he was not a concern of theirs.

Unfortunately, that left her feeling a little unsatisfied. What she wanted was not a strategic, seemingly-luck-driven victory, but an unquestionable one. _Her_ heirs would wipe away every trace of that organization, and the boy's role in it would soon become obsolete.

"Alright then, get to work."

* * *

Chitoge cursed the world as he moved toward his escape pod. By some stroke of luck, his men had managed to drive the Yotsuba soldiers into retreating, but Chitoge was not foolish enough to believe that would last for much longer. He had to get out of the way before the next wave came in.

A beep—a sound signalling a connected call—rang out across the room despite no one pressing a button to accept it.

Hackers, then.

"The reports said your name was Chitoge, wasn't it?"

Although it had never been addressed to him before, Chitoge would recognize that patronizing, sadistically threatening voice in his sleep.

Yotsuba Maya was speaking to him.

"What?" he growled. "Are the _Yotsuba_ trying to negotiate?"

His men had been good enough to make them retreat, so maybe their reputation was more heavily based on propaganda than Chitoge had realized.

"Hardly. I just had a question: what exactly made you think the meager forces you scraped together would be enough to put a dent in us?"

Chitoge glared at her, pulling himself up and growling, "And yet, you were the ones who retreated. Maybe the Ten Master Clans aren't all they're cut out to be, if the few 'meager forces' I 'scraped together' were enough to defeat the most infamous family."

Maya chuckled.

"Defeat? Hardly. Unlike you, who was going to abandon his soldiers, the Yotsuba know better than to kill valuable pieces for no reason."

"I-what?"

"Oh, did you think you had won? I'm afraid you're mistaken. It's over."

"Over? From what I saw, you sat back and allowed middle schoolers to direct this operation! You really think you can win? From what I saw, it wasn't that hard to push you back."  
"Push us back?" Maya giggled, relishing in how that made Chitoge lose his cool even more. "I suppose that answers my question. You didn't have a wild card, you simply never realized."

"Realized what?"

"It only makes sense, doesn't it? That the Demon of Okinawa is the son of the Demon King of the Far East?"

(Well, not _really_ her son, she acknowledged internally. 'Not yet, anyway.')

That minor distinction would not matter to Chitoge though, as he stepped back on shaking legs, his eyes wide with understanding. Abruptly, he collapsed in on himself, a minor panic attack forming as he realized just what she was suggesting to him.

There would be no escape. _Nothing_ could move fast enough to get him out of the God of Destruction's range. It was over; he had lost.

Maya smiled cheerfully at her success, then glanced to the side at people standing off-screen.

"I've had my fun. Do it," she commanded.

A crazed laugh escaped Chitoge, and he looked up to the screen with insanity trickling through his expression.

"You _**monsters**_."

A bright light engulfed the world around him, and a blaze as hot as the interior of the sun erased every trace of resistance from the world.

* * *

"Are you okay, Miyuki?" Tatsuya asked, still fretting over her injury.

Miyuki chuckled; she should expect it by now, but she was always surprised at how Tatsuya could put himself through hell, and _still_ have her be his top priority.

"Yes, Onii-sama, you healed me perfectly. And it's my fault, really. I know how to freeze guns, but I had only been focusing on the ones aimed at me, especially since you were doing most of the work."

"I know, I apologize for-"

"Onii-sama, don't blame yourself. This whole operation was my idea, anyways. I'm happy with how it turned out, so leave it at that, okay?"

Tatsuya obviously disagreed, but he nodded and looked out in the direction of the enormous crater he had made. Luckily, the area was in the middle of nowhere, so the light was unlikely to be recognized by any of the people from the next town over. It was certainly nothing the Yotsuba could not cover up.

Which did not explain why Tatsuya stared at the rubble with something that looked like… fear.

' _Uryu_ ,' Miyuki realized. ' _He's worried I won't be happy because seeing this will just make those three more scared, even if they don't know he did it_.'

"It won't be a problem," Miyuki explained. "They were never supposed to be involved in this to begin with — even Chitoge just had Uryu as a result of his own mistakes. The person responsible last time was careless because they did not understand the importance of it. I'll personally make sure they don't fail this time."

Tatsuya turned to her, his eyes glowing an unnatural, piercing light blue even as they met hers and relaxed. He was confident in his power and their victory, but he never fully allowed himself to be calm when it could be her life on the line as a result. His magic was always ready.

People stereotyped light as being 'good,' but when they saw her brother's powerful magic glow they treated it like a bomb, signifying danger rather than comfort. They saw it as the light of an angler fish—a sign of danger, rather than comfort. Some saw her brother's as mechanical, an emotionless glow that could only be produced by unfeeling technology or a computer screen—efficient, practical, but nonetheless _lifeless_. To others, he was the Demon of Okinawa, and that light represented a divine power which no mortal could oppose.

But to Miyuki, those eyes that softened every time they looked at her only showed the steady, light blue of a protective older brother. The pale color was unusual, but also mystical. A shine on the surface of water; the radiance of northern lights; the sparkle of diamonds in the sun; the promise to protect her against everything in her way.

"Thank you for protecting me," Miyuki whispered. "I'll take care of the rest."

* * *

"Uryu!" Mion yelled, overflowing with relief as her stupid, _stupid_ little brother ran into her arms. Similar reactions happened around her with Chandra's father and Yuusuke's parents, but Mion's attention was entirely centered around Uryu.

The policemen who had brought the kids over smiled at the scene, proud their work had paid off. Mion clutched her brother tightly, and turned her head to make eye contact with the officers.

"Thank you," she whispered through her tears. "Thank you so much."

Over the past few days, Mion had been fearing the worst. Would she have to tell their parents Uryu was gone? Would they even care? They had not answered any of her calls, but their lawyer picked up at one point to tell her that her parents were alive, just busy.

Yeah, thanks. Super helpful.

The police had even begun running a case on their supposed neglectance. Mion had never really thought of them as _neglectant_ — taking care of Uryu had always been her job, not theirs — but apparently the police thought differently.

Whatever.

Mion continued to clutch Uryu tightly, but flinched a little when she noticed a wetness gathering on her shoulder. Uryu was crying.

She frowned, then pulled her brother in even tighter. The police had been annoyingly vague about what had actually happened to the kids (she was starting to doubt the "protective custody" told to Chandra and Yuusuke's parents as well), so the most she knew was that Uryu had been taken by an organization opposing the master clans. Why they would take Uryu was pretty thoroughly brushed aside.

"Please excuse the interruption," one policewoman began, jumping back slightly when three guardians sent her a glare with the fury of the sun.

The kids, quickly wiping their tears, turned to face her.

"You three can all head home now, but we would like to have further meetings to discuss what happened there. We apprehended all the members involved, but it can't hurt to be careful. On your way out please arrange an appointment with the man up front."

' _Wait, they're really just letting these recently-kidnapped kids go_?' Mion wondered. ' _And how can they be so sure they caught every member? Shouldn't they at least give us a full explanation? They're acting so nervous, it's almost like they're trying to get us away from the station_.'

Given that Mion knew literally nothing about police procedures, she knew she might just be paranoid. She had considered blaming Uryu for poisoning her perception of reality with police dramas, but a glance at the other guardians in the room showed they all had lost some of their faith in the justice system that night.

Feeling increasingly uncomfortable around the officers, Mion knelt down next to her brother and looked him in his hazy, tired eyes.

"Do you feel ready to go home?"

"Yeah, lets go."

Mion frowned at the lacking response, but nodded and rushed to get out of the station along with the other two families present. As they left, Mion noticed a man and woman in pitch-black suits enter the room through another entrance and begin speaking to the now frightened-looking officers.

Questions surged through her mind, but she shook them off; the most important thing was making sure Uryu was okay.

The ride home was long and awkward, with the only conversation being Uryu's quick question of "did mom and dad call you when they heard what happened?"

Needless to say, her response shut down any further discussion.

The silence remained as Mion pulled up to the house and parked the car, and Uryu's dazed stare remained even as Mion pulled on his arm and dragged him inside. It remained as she sat him down in the kitchen; it persisted when she left to close the door; it lasted when she sat down next to him; it even withstood her turning too quickly and wacking her bag into his head.

Uryu simply continued to stare forward, unseeing and unresponsive to the world.

"...Uryu?"

"Hm?"

"You know I love you, right? And I'll accept anything?"

"Mmhm."

"...So, what are you thinking about?"

"Hm."

"...I see."

At this rate, she could spend twenty minutes trying to talk to him and still not learn anything. It was time for a change in strategy.

"...What's this?" Uryu asked.

Success! She had gotten to two-word responses! That was even better than she had hoped.

"A brownie left over from the bake sale last month; chocolate is the solution to all problems!"

"Hm."

Mion scowled at the regression, but resolutely pushed forward.

"It's too bad you weren't able to help out with that one since you had too much homework. I'll try to get my kendo team to run one in the summer. You can even invite your friends to help out! So long as that "evil witch" teacher of yours doesn't give you homework over the summer. Miss… Tsuka?"

"Tsoku," Uryu corrected.

"Right, her," Mion agreed. She's one of the teachers you share with Miyuki, right?" she teased. "And that Tatsuya kid too! It must be hard to have your crush's brother in the same class as the two of you!"

Instead of getting embarrassed, however, Uryu just turned to her with a vaguely confused expression.

"...Who?"

* * *

"Miyuki-sama, it was a success," the Yotsuba spy reported from her spot on a tree branch next to the kitchen's window. Her innate magic gave her the ability to hear through walls, so it was child's play for her to confirm Uryu's state.

The mistake last time was only removing the most dangerous parts of his Tatsuya-related memory. This time, the Yotsuba erased _everything_.

"Good work," Miyuki praised, pleased despite the loss of her once-friend. "Watch for a week, then send your reports to my brother on the results."

"Understood."

* * *

Several years later, a new situation arose. It seemed there would be no end to the people who tried to separate Tatsuya and Miyuki.

"This is a matter that concerns 1A! Don't go meddling around with us blooms, you lowly weeds!" the boy shouted, his eyes showing he meant every word.

By Tatsuya's side, Miyuki frowned, then turned to meet her brother's eyes.

' _Are we going to get involved_?'

Several years ago, a Tatsuya Shiba hearing mere _students_ try to separate him from Miyuki would have reacted without a doubt. These kids, for the same stupid reasons that had caused Tatsuya to be divided from his sister at home, were trying to control his sister's actions despite obviously making her unhappy.

Were trying to keep Tatsuya from being able to protect her.

Three years ago, Tatsuya would have used them to send a m _ **e** sS_ **a** g ** _E_** to everyone present about what would happen if they hurt Miyuki. It would be a threat he was both capable of and prepared to carry out.

After all, he might belong to the Yotsuba family, but Miyuki would always be his highest priority.

But now? Now, Tatsuya just watched the children before him, allowing the situation to play out. He tensed when Mori's quick draw was used and prepared to dissolve the situation (but nothing more, like he _should have_ with Uryu), but allowed Erika and the student council to resolve the situation.

"Sorry about that," Tatsuya intervened. "It was just horseplay that got out of hand."

Miyuki turned to stare at him in shock, but Tatsuya continued speaking to the student council members with a friendly, unassuming smile he had taken care to master during his middle school days.

Diffuse the situation. Calm everyone down. Make allies, not enemies. If they were going to spend the next few years together, it was better to have them on his side, even if it cost him some of the anonymity he had been hoping to maintain for at least a week.

His birth mother, Shiba Miya, may have finally succumbed to her illness last year despite his best efforts, but even through their limited interactions, she had made one thing clear: Miyuki was his priority. He would not — _could_ not — go around picking fights and making needless enemies when his job was _protecting_.

When he did that with Uryu, the finale involved Miyuki sustaining a physical injury during battle. He refused to allow that to happen again.

He would not make enemies whose identity as civilians protected them from assassination.

"Deceit?" he asked rhetorically. "Far from it."

Defuse; explain; hide.

"After all, I'm nothing but… a course two student."

* * *

The End!


End file.
